Jewels of Fate
by LD 1449
Summary: Sequel to Naruto of the Shikon. NOTE: Must read Shikon first to understand what is going on. A beast wakes, A beast wakes in three different planes, A beast wakes at three different times, A beast wakes at the same time, A beast wakes. And now it approached.
1. Chapter 1

A beast wakes.

A beast wakes in three different planes.

A beast wakes at three different times.

A beast wakes at the same time.

A beast wakes.

And now it approached.

* * *

Her eyes snapped open, her body lying still and relaxed.

But she saw what no other could see, ethereal planes and currents shifted and molded themselves into the inextricably complex pattern and weave, that was the fabric of the reality here.

Eldritch energies fissured and forked, splitting and jumping before becoming seamless into the eternal pattern.

The Kyuubi no Kitsune, the greatest of the Bijuu, one of the last true immortal creations of the gods could see it all. And she saw that things were violent.

_'No.'_

She sat up, rising to her feet, as gracefully as she could, stepping forward and vanishing into a haze of red mist before she came to, appearing through thin air where she wanted to be.

She saw him open his eyes, shifting awake at her presence before he relaxed, looking up at her, his exhausted gaze attentive despite its weariness.

His friends were asleep around them, they would stay asleep she knew.

"Kyuubi." He greeted, only the barest hint of cautious warmth in his voice. He still did not fully know how to act around her, where he stood, or where she did.

Better that way really.

She smiled down at him. Kneeling at his outstretched feet. "Hey."

He smiled back, a slight ease to what she could see of his face, one that wasn't there just a few months before... Still, he cut through the pleasantries, for how little he knew her, he still knew her better than most. "Come on." He said, sitting up, leaning in a little closer. "You and I both know you don't just show up to say Hi. That would be boring."

She let out a quick breath of laughter at his words. "So true." She traced a claw along his boot, smirking in that familiar way of hers. "But wouldn't you like me to..._dally_?"

He raised an eyebrow, keeping quiet. He trusted her now-to some extent. But she knew it was not to the extent to really allow for something like that to happen between them. Smart of him really. She was a fickle thing, she knew. She'd had many lovers throughout the thousands upon thousands of years of her life. Some she grew bored of, some she killed.

Too few she could say she ever really cared for to any significant degree.

Did she care for him? It'd been so long since she had cared for anyone she wasn't entirely sure herself.

Better this hesitation, better this slow pace. For him especially, but also for her to a small degree.

She dropped her flirtatious smile, easing back into a more casual stance. Though, before her next words even that grew faint, her lips released her smile to lay at a flat line. "You need to leave."

He raised an eyebrow, looking to his left, then to his right, making a show of looking for something. "And why exactly?"

She sighed, wondering again why humans required so many explanations. Celestial beings knew when to obey so much better.

"Let us suffice it to say that you are in danger."

He blinked.

…

"From who?" He prompted, drawing out the last word, she felt as though she were pulling teeth, he probably felt the same really.

She sighed.

"The Gods."

That made him draw a little short, straightening. He tilted his head just a bit. "Uhh, is this because I haven't prayed in a while? Shouldn't they be after Miroku instead? He is practically-"

"They want you dead because you can traverse time."

He stared at her for a moment longer; then he straightened, no longer leaning against the tree he stared at her straight in the eye. "Okay. Why don't you start at the beginning, hmm?"

She let out a breath through her nostrils.

"You're human-"

"Oh am I?"

-So you don't know, but there are rules, very important and strict rules regarding the manipulation of time."

"And...I take it I broke one?" He asked. "I don't suppose they'll just accept an apology."

"Not when you're a repeat offender." She smirked, watching him raise an eyebrow in confusion. "One of -infact no- the most important rule, is that no human must ever hold knowledge on how to manipulate the currents of time."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. Either to push back a headache or the last vestiges of sleep. "So why are they after me and not Kagome?"

"Oh I'm surprised at you Naruto." She drew up a mocking indignation. "Wanting to drag the girl to draw the God's anger."

"You know what I mean." He said. "She's been jumping up and down that well for years now. I used your blades once...what was it a month ago?"

She let her teasing drop, shrugging her shoulders. "Because she has no control over it. That well brings her back five hundred years to the day. A two lane road with no curves and two dead ends. It will always take her back to the same spot."

"And that's not the case with the blades you gave me." He concluded.

"No it isn't. Quite frankly, I didn't think you'd...refuse my offer." She hesitated a little, bringing it up, she saw the brief flash of pain before his eyes. It was a wound still fresh. One he'd received willingly...but... "If you hadn't, this would have sorted itself out. I would have sent you back through time, everything would become unraveled, through the machinations of paradox and time continuum displacements nothing would be as it was, the blades, if they were even able to return with you, would have lost all their power, because at that point in time, I did not have the ability to bend the fabric of reality to such a degree."

"So...no time travel blades...no Gods wanting to hunt me down."

"Precisely." She nodded. "As it stands..."

She paused, hesitated, and Naruto leaned forward a note of genuine concern in his voice. "Kyuubi?"

Her face tightened, the lines etching themselves into her perfect, eternal features. "As it stands, the Gods will soon move to cut your cloth from the fabric of reality. Making it as though you never existed."

He jerked a bit. "That seems a little extreme."

She shook her head. "You do not understand just how much of a travesty your very existence is to them now. Entire worlds have been purged for similar offenses, whole universes and dimensions annihilated before the problem could get out of hand."

"Why exactly am I such a problem?" He asked, as patiently as he could. "And please don't say its because I'm human." The irony of those words was not lost on him.

"Because humans will always seek too much." She stood, beginning to pace infront of him, red robes brushing over the blades of grass as she walked. "When Celestials are given a command, we follow it, because we can grasp the repercussions, we are allowed to change much, allowed many liberties. My sending you back to the Shinobi period to change history? A steep move to be sure, but not one that would draw too much attention from the powers that be. But with those liberties we know when things cannot be carried further than allowed. We know that if we go back too far, or jump forward too much, the very nature of our reality could be irrevocably altered. Imagine a world where two plus two equals five. Everything changes at the most fundamental level. Our power, our beings, the existence of every living thing in this reality, and the countless others would be put at risk."

"And humans wouldn't abide by this?"

"No you wouldn't. You would not understand, not in their eyes. You could never truly grasp the concept of it. Even now, your mind is simplifying my words, bringing it down to a scale you can fathom, when it is in truth simply beyond your level of comprehension."

He let her continue, watching from where he sat as she continued to slowly pace infront of him.

She seemed to gather her thoughts before pausing, turning her head to look at him dead in the eye.

"But more than that, it is because you are the weakest."

"Well gee, thanks a lot." He muttered, lips pursing in a frown.

"You are. Even in your time, Demons were still a superior force, I have long since ascended to join the ranks of immortal celestials, second only to Gods, and the Gods are second only to the powers that define Fate. It is because of this weakness, because you have nothing, that many would be willing to risk anything, to achieve anything. Those with nothing to loose have everything to gain. The half breed, Naraku, held that flaw, a left over from the human mind of the man known as Onigumo. And you yourself have known and fought others with such a flaw."

He had. Orochimaru, members of the Akatsuki...Sasuke. He'd fought a lot of bad people in his time.

"Even yourself really."

A muscle in his jaw twitched, teeth grinding as he glared at her. "I'm not like them!"

She raised a perfect eyebrow. "Aren't you?" She brushed a hand in the space between them. "Consider you having these blades before you came here. That you'd acquired them the day after Konoha's destruction. Wouldn't you go back? How far back would you go? Just far enough to stop the destruction of the village? Maybe. But what if you got ideas afterward? Would you go far back enough to slay Orochimaru in the forest of death before he bit Sasuke? Or perhaps further? To save your life from misery and pain, to save the Fourth. Hmm? Would it have been a tempting thought to go far back enough to stop my attack on the village at the night of your birth? Or even further back? To a time when my power was much less? Would you stop my creation altogether if you could have?"

"I'm not-"

"Not now." She interrupted, kneeling down again, she cupped his chin in her hand, feeling the cloth beneath her fingertips as she kept his eyes on her. "I know you wouldn't now. But remember Naruto. Remember how you were. How it felt. The pain was so great you _wanted _to _die_. And while now you're not seeking death, you still wouldn't be wholly opposed to it would you?"

His eyes grew a little dim, the sadness just touching the blue surface. His shame was his admission.

"Do you see now, why this is so dangerous to the Gods? Why this power above nearly every other in known creation is guarded so jealously."

He closed his eyes, sighing. He nodded. "I suppose...so what do we do? Destroy the swords?"

"That won't be enough." She said. "What is made cannot be unmade, every creation leaves its mark upon the fabric of reality. Your swords are no different. Even should you destroy them, you have the knowledge on how to acquire them again. And even without that, there is still the fact that at a very base level, your body remembers, it _knows_ that it moved in a manner that is unnatural to humans, that it went against the flow, even if it was for an instant. Like I said. The Gods are jealous in their guardianship of this knowledge. That alone could very likely be enough to set them against you."

He rubbed his forehead, closing his eyes and this time she knew it was to stave off a headache rather than sleep.

"Ok..." He breathed. "You have a plan." He looked up at her. "You wouldn't have come here if you didn't. You said I need to leave."

She nodded. "That's right."

"I think its a safe bet that I'm going to regret asking this but...where exactly?"

She smiled and it was somehow equal parts gentle and predatory.

* * *

Barely a week later the entire group was milling around the bone eaters well. Though Naruto had explained the situation as best he could, there was still a general sense of confusion hovering over the Inu-taichi.

"There's one thing I'm not getting yet." Kagome muttered, hugging her knees as she knelt, directing her question more towards Kyuubi rather than Naruto. The latter of the two lying flat on the grass as the former traced small but intricate markings over his forehead.

"And what's that little Miko?" Kyuubi asked, not looking up from her work.

"Well...if the Gods are after him why are they taking so long? If the Gods really wanted him dead wouldn't they like, drop a lightning bolt or something? Or just stop his heart."

The Bijuu laughed, a low chuckle half caught in her throat. "Oh if only it were so simple. No. Given the nature of Naruto's offense they need to be much more thorough in their handling of this. His death simply wouldn't be enough. That requires more than just a simple death. Which means more time."

"They're really blowing this way out of proportion from what you've been saying." The blond in question notes.

"Don't worry, jumping you five hundred years into the future will delay them further, along with...other things I have planned."

"Keh." The Hanyou put in, pacing a trench around the well. "From what you've said all you're doing is buying time. I haven't heard of anything you're doing to actually solve anything."

Kyuubi glances up with her eyes, a dangerous glint in them, and Naruto reacts, pinching her hip to draw her attention back to him.

He succeeds, and offers a look that somewhat translates into '_Behave' _and a moment later they're both shocked by the audacity of it.

She smiles, laughing again, her shoulders shaking. More real this time.

"Things will work themselves out." She answered, reaching down and smacking Naruto's cheek, a bit more forceful than the playing motion would warrant, getting him back for the pinch. _'Trust_ me. I always have a plan."

She finished drawing whatever symbol she'd been brushing over his forehead, the cold ink feeling clammy against his skin. "Done." She said, putting the brush back down against the inkpot.

Sango wandered into his field of vision, leaning over him so her face blocked out much of the overhead sky. "So what's that?"

The demoness cut her thump open, a dark ruby red drop of blood welling up at her fingertip before the wound closed. "This my dear is so our intrepid little nuisance doesn't attract more attention than a lighthouse on a moonless night."

The drop falls and lands right over the symbol she'd drawn over his forehead.

Naruto sits up so fast he nearly headbutts Sango, his hands flying up to his head as he hisses through his teeth. "Aargh!"

"Stop being such an infant."

His muscles tensed and relaxed, his body shaking as though he'd suddenly been dumped in ice water as his stomach lurched with nausea. "Ohhh."

"It is a bit jarring I know, having most of your Chakra sealed away so abruptly, but you'll get used to it again soon enough."

He opened his eyes, glaring. "You could have warned me."

She smiled. "I could have."

He sighed, giving up before he slowly began to stand, thanking Sango for her offered hand as he reached his feet.

"Walk around." The Kitsune insisted as she dusted her clothes free of some imaginary dust. "Get a feel for it, you might be staying that way a while."

He frowned at that, his body felt weak, like he'd swallowed a muscle relaxant, or ten. He wasn't numb or anything he just felt like he could do a lot less.

He started walking, circling the clearing.

His ears twitched, listening as Kagome spoke.

"So what exactly are you planning?"

"Don't you mortals know its irritating to keep asking questions."

Naruto saw Inuyasha open his mouth, Miroku moving a moment too late to stop him.

"In other words she doesn't have a fuckin' clu-"

"Inuyasha sit."

Naruto winced. He was half sure he'd heard Inuyasha's spine crack on that one.

Finally, walking over to the well, the blond peered into its inky blackness.

He heard the shuffling of footsteps behind him, looking over his shoulder he was not really surprised to see Kyuubi standing there, holding his two swords wrapped in a bundled cloth. He reached for them, hands just brushing over the hilts when her own lashed out, smacking his hand away. "Ahh ahh." She chided wagging her finger with a smirk. "Just one. I'll take the other. It'll confuse your hunters more."

He raised an eyebrow not completely understanding how but deciding to take her word for it. He reached down, pulling the Dragon sword, and leaving the other.

She smiled, nodding once. "Good."

The sword rattled in its sheathe as he shifted his grip, turning his blue eyes to look over Miroku, Sango, Kagome and the still prone Inuyasha.

He smiled, as reassuringly as he could. "Hey now. Don't look so worried. I'll be back before ya know it."

Kagome was the first one to smile, stepping forward and hugging the enigmatic ninja that had become their latest friend. "You just take care of Mom and Souta, tell them I'll follow in a few days ok."

"Sure thing." He said, pulling away before he exchanged his quick goodbyes with the rest of the group, even managing to pry Inuyasha free of his hole in the ground long enough for a handshake.

When Sango made her way closer, he noticed Hiraikotsu was bare over her back, the normal tarp that usually covered it now rolled up in her hands.

"Here. She said, shoving it forward into his chest, he grabbed at it awkwardly, taking it as she pulled back. "Use it to hide your sword. I know Kagome said weapons weren't normal in her time."

He was about to say that he could probably hide it in Kagome's house, but a pointed look, with absurdly wide eyes and a lolling head from the Miko made him smile and simply accept the gesture. "Thanks Sango."

She nodded, uncomfortable as Miroku and Kagome smiled while Naruto's eyes curled and squinted in their typical indication of his own smile.

Stepping back to the edge of the well, as Sango moved back next to Kagome he looked at Kyuubi, watching the Demoness with shrewd blue eyes.

"See something you like?" She asked at his insistent gaze.

"You know..." He drawled. "You still haven't told me why you're going through so much trouble to protect me."

He let his head tilt, an eyebrow raising as his lips pursed beneath his mask with an impatient utterance of "Kyuubi."

She circled him, her clawed finger going from his chest to his shoulder before she stopped.

"Don't you mortals know its irritating to keep asking questions?"

Then she shoved, the push of her delicate fingers pressing against his chest enough for him to step back, his foot catching at the lip of the well before he stumbled and fell back, down down into the dark.

He saw the blue sky as a backdrop to her shock of red hair before the light enveloped him.

He came to, his back hitting the soft ground of the well's floor before he realized that something was very very wrong.

* * *

"You think he'll be alright." She heard Kagome's voice, asking someone, probably the monk seeing as how he answered.

"Naruto-san will be just fine Kagome-chan, you know he can take care of himself."

"Yea but-"

"You don't need to worry about him." She says, placing her hand down, over the well. A red pulse of her power rippling through the wood and finding its way to the earth. "He'll be just fine."

"If you say so."

She straightened, her back going ramrod straight as she turned to look at the Miko. "I do."

It was an instinct in them. The entire taichi held a single, simultaneous moment of clarity as her bloody red eyes fixated themselves on the girl.

She moved, and one by one the three others were tossed aside like leaves in the face of a hurricane.

The girl had notched an arrow, pulling back on the string, she felt the hiss of holy magic burn at her skin like heated metal held up just an inch from her flesh. Uncomfortable but not unbearable.

The arrow vanished, her raw demonic force destroying it and the holy energy coiled around it. Like water breaking over rock.

She stepped closer, grabbing the girl by the throat, shattering the bow with her other hand.

She brought the little thing close, smiling, her long, inhuman fangs poking at her lower lip as her eyes gleamed. As though blood was just rushing under the surface of her iris.

Kagome's face grew slack with fright, the fear just brimming to the surface in an instant, bringing a heady scent to the Demon's senses as she laughed.

"Because I have _**bait**_."

* * *

Hello my loyal readers. The long awaited sequel to _Naruto of the Shikon_ is here.

I would like to thank all of you who demonstrated support for the idea when it was first announced and all those that helped me start this work and provided their input and critique.

Now as many of you know, or were made aware of back during the original announcement. The Shikon sequel will be branching into an entirely new Anime Genre altogether called Ikki-Tousen.

It is to be perfectly frank, a fairly sub par anime but one that I find has a lot of potential. And with the fans of the original story offering their blessings for this proposed sequel I went ahead and did it.

So thank you all again and I hope I will be able to live up to your expectations for this story.


	2. Chapter 2

The gate lurched open with a screech of angry metal.

It wasn't even much of a gate really. More like a slab of steel thrown over a four by eight square opening and considering it felt as though it weighed as much as a truck and its track was gritty stone it slid about as well as a rusty hinge dipped in superglue.

Opening it enough to slip through, he ducked inside and closed it immediately, the constant hiss of cold rain falling around him being immediately replaced by the insistent drum of it pelting over the four walls of his little rooftop hovel.

It was dark inside, a flare of chakra glowing over his arm brought some much needed illumination.

It let him get a look around, finding the bed still in place, along with much of his equipment and pouches.

He knelt, placing his hand on the floor, he touched the taut wire. It snapped, two kunai shot out from corners of the ceiling from different spring traps, rushing towards him.

Catching both blades he pushed chakra into the explosive seals to shut them off before they were fully triggered.

The blades gave a small clink as he shifted them onto one hand, pulling the explosive tags off before pocketing them and the blades before he stood, pulling the tarp Sango had given him to conceal his sword from over his shoulders and tossing it on the floor for lack of any place to hang it before he walked over towards the far wall.

Kneeling, he pulled slabs of brick and loose stone away to see the sword resting in its little hidey hole where he left it a week or so ago when he found this place the first time.

He put the stones back in their place, sealing it up. He wished he was skilled enough to leave a permanent Genjutsu, but he wasn't. Never did have the control for it. And now that he does with most of his power sealed away there's no one to really teach him.

Ahh irony.

He sighed, pulling the facemask down from the bridge of his nose, making his way over to the dingy, moth eaten, foam spewing mattress and setting himself down on it for another night of fitful sleep.

Nearly two weeks. Two weeks and he was nowhere closer to finding out just how on earth he'd gotten here.

* * *

The next morning had him waking up to the sun filtering through the slit between the metal slab and the wall it blocked off, the fine thin ray of sunlight peeking through to glare across his eyes perfectly.

He stood up, stiff neck and sore back making him groan as he fully picked himself up from the floor level mattress.

_Another day then._

* * *

The man finished dressing picking up his keys and hooking his glasses over his nose before he walked out the apartment door with a click of the lock sliding into the slit.

A moment later the window to his seventh story apartment opened, letting a masked blond slip in, gingerly making his way across the apartment, he eyed the various pieces of furniture as he peeked into the rooms, finally finding the bathroom after half a minute of searching.

Turning on the shower he tested the water with his fingers

Nearly an hour later he stepped back out the window, sticking to the wall as he closed the glass entrance. He always made sure to leave behind as little evidence as he possibly could. He felt bad enough about invading private homes. No reason to take people's peace of mind along with it really.

Now, what he needed to do was find some money so he could buy some food.

"Just how many books do you freakin need?" Chouhi grunted hefting a bag over her shoulder, filled with several textbooks that were as thick as a brick.

"Its not that many." Gentoku Ryuubi put in her voice meek before the other girl's annoyance.

"Ryuubi." Another voice put in and though this one was far more level, just a faint trace of a similar annoyance as Chouhi's could be heard in it as the girl was carrying not one, but two full bags of books. "As much as Chouhi-san has a flare for exaggeration on things. This time even I must say that this is a little...excessive."

"I'm sorry Kanu-chan." The bespectacled girl was nearly whimpering, all but poking her fingers together with her stance. Most likely the only reason she hadn't was because she too had a bag of books in one hand. Her purse was in the other.

The three girls descended the stairs, walking out to the side walk to join the natural flow of human traffic as they began to make their way back to Seito school.

Half a block down the road Chouhi spoke up, "Ok I'm hungry."

Kanu took a breath, sighing through her nostrils as she fought the urge to run a hand through her hair. So much for making it back early.

"But Chouhi we have to-"

"No!" The loud girl shouted over Ryuubi's nearly whispered protest. "We sat in that library for hours, we stood on line with these books, we're gonna be carrying these for nearly six more blocks, and all that we can get at the school somethin boring, come on you guys lets get a milk shake or somethin, have a burger, eat one of those weird crunchy things what are they called?"

Ryuubi looked at Kanu for help but the tall brunette didn't say a word. She'd learned long ago that unless things went too far not to get involved when Chouhi wanted to do something. Life involved less frustration that way. And less aspirin.

Nearly an hour later, as Kanu was finishing the last of her salad, she listened to her two friends bicker. Well...more like Chouhi poking at Ryuubi and demanding that when they got back she was going to _"Drop all these books and train until she was a real toushi."_

It was nothing new, so the raven haired beauty was able to more or less ignore it.

However-

"-when the tournament rolls around you're gonna compete damnit!" Chouhi shouted, nearly leaning over the table, glaring daggers at the chestnut brunette who seemed to want nothing more than to sink into the ground.

She wouldn't. Kanu knew. She wouldn't let her- but- "Now that Chouhi-san brings it up Ryuubi, we should discuss who will be fighting to represent Seito."

Grateful for the distraction, Ryuubi latched onto it with all she could, ignoring Chouhi who nearly shouted that she would fight. "Kanu-san the Tournament is still a bit far off. Shouldn't we wait to discuss it with everyone at school?"

Kanu shrugged. "I suppose your right. We should discuss it soon however." She stood up, once more picking up the bags of books. "Come on lets go."

Picking up the trays of food and the other bags the three girls soon filed out, making their way back down the street once more.

As they passed an alleyway however, the bum came out of nowhere; colliding with Ryuubi with a harsh fleshy thump of two bodies. Kanu dropped one bag, catching Ryuubi by the arm before the girl fell flat on her ass while the man, along with Ryuubi's own bag and her purse fell down to the floor.

The bum, hooded in a drab, brown hooded tarp bowed low as he scrambled to his knees from where he'd fallen. hunched back to the point thgey couldnt even see his face under the hood only the top of his head. "Sorry. So Sorry."

"Watch where the hell you're going you ass!" Chouhi shouted, circling around Kanu to check on the slightly dazed Ryuubi. For all her anger and frequent frustration with the bookish Seito leader, Chouhi did care very deeply for her.

"Sorry." The man said again, bowing low as he reached over and picked up Ryuubi's purse and curled his hand around the bag of books, lifting them as he stood and holding them out, still bowed. "Very sorry." His voice was soft, trembling even. Kanu got half the impression of a meek old man under the drab. But the hands she saw peeking out from underneath were not old.

Nor were they dirty...

Ryuubi reached forward, grabbing her stuff with a slightly uneasy smile. "Its ok. No harm done." She looked to Chouhi. "Ok?"

The loud girl still looked displeased, glaring daggers at the bum.

Ryuubi grabbed her belongings, pulling them out of the mans grip.

Kanu let go of her arm, her hand shooting out, quick like a snapping snake and snared the man by his forearm in an iron grip.

Letting the others see the bill cradled in the cup of his palm.

The pressure of the raven haired girl's fingers grew, her eyes narrowing. Chouhi snarled at her side as Ryuubi gasped in dismayed shock, cracking her knuckles. "Oh that's it!"

As she stepped forward, ready to hurt the man that cringed, huddling down and away, Kanu placed her hand infron't of the girl turning her sight away from the man. "You're not beating up some idiot on the street. Call the cops, let them deal with-"

His kick came fast, faster than almost anyone she'd ever seen before. She blocked it, placing her arm infront of her stomach to steal away the brunt of the impact. Her grip slackened enough for his hand to slip out as Chouhi advanced, he caught the girl's fist, twisting her around in a fast spin before tossing her straight at Kanu, who caught the shorter brunette in reflex.

The man bowed again at Ryuubi. "Again, very sorry." The three girls heard before he ran down the alley.

"Chouhi stay with Ryuubi!" She shouted, rushing after him, ignoring both girls shouts at her back.

The man was fast, though that was obvious enough already. But more than fast he was skilled, every movement seemed measured and precise, nothing wasted like so many others that ran and had to jump over or skirt around obstacles like he was; moving over trash bins and discarded boxes.

He rounded the corner, and Kanu heard the chink of a chainlink fence in her ears.

She turned, only half surprised to see him land on the other side despite having heard a single sound from the noisy fence.

He turned to look at her, possibly thinking she wasn't able to do something similar.

She jumped, her foot whispering at the touch of metal before the other jumped off the brick wall, vaulting over the top of the twelve foot tall barricade with absurd ease.

She heard the man give a hiss in surprise before raising his arm up to block her drop kick, the full momentum of her fall adding enough force to send him tumbling down to the floor where he smoothly rolled to recover his feet

She was on him in a second, fists and feet flying in search of their target, her surprise grew with every moment as each strike was dodged or at least partially blocked.

Finally he grabbed at her leg, one arm coiling around her ankle while the other snapped around her hip, pulling her forward until she held out her hands to avoid smacking face first into the wall. She jumped, lifting her other foot and smacking it into his stomach expelling the breath from his lungs with a grunt as she caught herself awkwardly onto her own feet.

He tried to run past her in that moment, she grabbed at the drab wool like tarp, fingers curling onto the fabric as she yanked back.

The thing came off with the whipping of fabric, he snatched at it, his full form revealed in a second with a shock of blond hair, though that was as far as her identification marker went considering the mask that covered half his face.

She pulled, he lurched forward, foolishly trying to keep his feet firm, he hunched, exposing his ribs to the kick she landed there with brutal strength.

He reeled letting go of the drab with a wince as he stepped back.

She whipped the cloth through the air, over her head, lashing it at his face in a disorienting snap crack of fabric over his eyes before she attacked again with her long legs, using their reach to her advantage. Some strikes he blocked, some hit home.

"Oh you're not using my own damn clothes to kick my ass!"

He caught the piece of clothing in the next second curling it over his fist before he spun, wrapping himself in it with the movement before she could react and driving his elbow into her stomach.

She reeled, gritting her teeth as she stumbled and the man took off again, running down the alley.

She rushed after him her feet pounding over the dark asphalt.

Ahead of her, Naruto all but groaned. Just his luck to find the one person in this place that could keep up with him.

Rounding a corner he almost stopped, seeing as how he was met by a sheer wall of brick. Then he noticed the fire escape up above.

Rushing up to the wall, he stuck to its surface, running up its length before vaulting off and grabbing onto the fire escape.

A moment later when Kanu rounded the same corner the raven haired Seito student stopped dead, wondering how anyone could jump almost a full two and a half stories up.

She grit her teeth, running towards the nearest wall her foot pounded on its surface before leaping off, her other foot jumping off a different corner and then jumping a third time.

Naruto felt his jaw drop, half impressed, half in disbelief at the girls tenacity- if she made this jump...

Luckily, she didn't, her fingers just barely brushed the metal before she fell landing with a roll. He was half wondering if she broke her leg with the height of the fall.

He leaned over the edge, hands gripping the cold, moist metal. "You okay?

She stood up, turning and glaring at him, Naruto held up his hands in a vaguely placating gesture. "I'm serious. You didn't break anything did you?"

"What school are you from?" She asked instead.

"School?" Naruto wondered shrugging. "I'm not part of a school miss."

"No one but a Toushi can fight or move like you do. And I don't recognize you. So tell me what school you belong to. Is it Kyosho? Rakuyo?"

"None." He answered straightening before he started climbing up the stairs. "Tell your friend I'm sorry. Just wanted some food money."

She called after him but he just kept ascending the fire escape

"What are you going to do with me?"

The kyuubi turned, her eyes pulling away from her own nails as the fire crackled, hovering in the air between them, fueled by her chakra to keep the miko warm and allow her to see.

"_I,"_ She emphasized. "-won't be doing _much _of anything to you save for what I've already done. Which, to put in layman's terms, is paint a target over your back. When the gods find you however it will depend solely on their mood whether you live or die really."

"But I haven't done anything!" She decried

Kyuubi shrugged, smiling still. "True but I have. And I will make them rather wroth before all this is done I'm sure."

Kagome huddled bringing her knees up to rest her chin on them. "And how much longer before all this is done?" She wanted to see her friends, wanted to make sure they were alright. The last time she'd laid eyes on them was as she was carried away, the three of them bloody and beaten around the site of the bone eaters well.

"Some time yet. Gods tend to move slowly. They won't even be the ones to move, not at first." The kitsune picked at her nails again. "They'll send an agent, possibly two, never more than three. Stronger than you mortals of course but far weaker than I. I'll string the fool along as long as I can. When he discovers I am the one meddling in his efforts, he will retreat to his masters. Then they'll move and they'll come to me directly."

"And then what?"

The Kyuubi smiled at the girl. "That depends on who comes does it not? Same as your life really."

The Miko lowered her head again.

"Oh come now girl." The demoness laughed. "Cheer up. I only broke three of the half breeds ribs. And chances are whoever the gods send won't even approach your friends. And if he does he most likely won't damage them...too much anyway."

Kagome's eyes snapped up to face the woman, her expression tight with anger. "You're a monster. And I hope Naruto sees that before all of this is finished."

"He will, probably." She answered with a shrug as she stood up, circling around the fire to cup Kagome's chin, bringing the girl's face closer to hers. "And regardless of that, he's done more than you know for you and your friends. Time to repay the favor as far as I'm concerned."

"We would have done it anyway!"

The Demoness smiled, a slow languid grin that showed off her perfect teeth as she looked into the girls eyes. "No...you wouldn't have."

"Yes we wou-"

"Tell me that, when you see just how high the price of friendship and loyalty is going to be for you and yours little girl. Believe me. Not many can afford to pay it."

* * *

In one week this story has accumulated 39 reviews 165 alerts 200 favorites and 15 community entries. I really do appreciate how much faith you the readers have in my abilities considering this is only one chapter old. It really is humbling to see.

Thank you all again.

At any rate

This chapter was short. Next one will be much longer and will explain quite a few things.

Anyway for what it was worth, I hope you enjoyed it. Read and Review.


	3. Chapter 3

Heads up, this chapter may start out a bit confusing for you readers unfamiliar with Ikki-Tousen but it will more or less pan out towards the end.

Without further delay, enjoy.

* * *

They pushed that cart every day, up and down this road. A few days, very few and far between, they wouldn't push on through.

Older men they were. Or at least they looked it. Their clothes were in tatters, their beards unkempt at best, complete hairy monstrosities at worst.

And every day they'd push that cart, filled to the brim with metal. They'd come back hours later, food wrappers or drinks in their hand.

Day in and day out.

It didn't take him long to put two and two together really.

So, today, he waited.

The two men came walking down the road. Scraggly beards rat holed clothes and all. Talking to eachother, or bickering, or arguing. He couldn't really decide which. He didn't really care. Half of what they were saying seemed to be gossip revolving around people he didn't know.

When he stepped infront of the cart, they almost didn't stop, so involved in their conversation and how infrequently someone approached them. He actually had to prop his foot at the bottom of the metal wagon for good measure.

One of them stared, wide eyed like some deer caught in the headlights of a car. "Uhh, hey...can we help you with somethin' mister?"

Naruto smiled, bowing his head a bit in greeting. "Hello. I was just wondering. Where do you two take all this metal every day?"

They looked at each other, bewildered not even covering half of what their faces expressed.

He was probably asking something obvious.

"Tin man."

"Tin Man?" He asked.

"Yeah you know, the tin man. We give him stuff ya know? Like copper, aluminum, things like that."

"And he pays you."

"We ain't luggin this thing to the east side for our good health son." The other one answered, quiet up to that point. Naruto smiled as genially as he could.

"Would you be so kind as to show me where he is? I find myself with a distinct need of currency in my immediate future."

* * *

"What? But-but Hakufu just transferred here, why would anyone from Rakuyo target her?"

Ganjuu's eyebrow rose slightly. "You don't know? Apparently she teamed up with Kakoton from Kyosho academy. Beat several of Rakuyo's students good too." He snapped his fingers, calling the waitress over.

"But why team up with a fighter from Kyosho?" He asked

Ganjuu sent the waitress off, his eyebrow now raised high. "I was going to ask you."

Koukin cringed, of course, he knew Hakufu best. Ganjuu called him here to find out why Hakuufu did what she did as well, not to inform him about it.

"S-sorry." Koukin cringed again.

Ganjuu sighed. "Its fine. At any rate, Sonsaku and Kakoton had their fight, and this is now a problem."

That made Koukin look up. "What do you mean?"

"Kyosho is spearheading the movement against Toutaku."

It took Koukin a second to put it together. "But that means-"

"Right. Now Nanyo looks like we're supporting Kyosho, putting us right in the cross hairs of Toutaku."

"And Rakuyo will-"

"They're sicking everything onto Hakufu." Ganjuu finished.

Koukin let himself fall forward, elbows on the table, running his fingers through his hair. Hakufu didn't know...she probably just saw a fight and wanted to join in or something. She was always so clueless. Why couldn't she-

"It was never an official thing." Ganjuu continued, breaking him out of his thoughts. "But we've been moving against Toutaku as well for a long time now." The massive fighter looked at him. "So sooner or later things would have had to come to ahead."

"You mean that-"

"Things might move now a bit faster than we would have liked. But ultimately Hakufu's involvement in more an inconvenience than a full on crisis."

The waitress returned with Ganjuu's order, and Koukin stood up. Bowing to the fighter. "Thank you Ganjuu, I have to get back to Hakufu."

Without waiting for his friend's leave the young man turned and left the ice cream shop.

* * *

The rusty, half ruined pipe came off whatever it was stuck to with a screech of groaning metal.

Naruto eyed the thing, shrugging before tossing it onto the pile he'd already gathered.

Copper, tin, aluminum were valuable or so he understood.

He hadn't found much copper, but he hoped the sheer quantity of metal he would bring in would be enough to get him some money.

He looked at the pile, fairly large already. He decided to try it now. No sense in gathering more just to ruin it or lose it if he messed up.

He pulled out a paper, the base seal matrix already placed, stark black on the white backdrop. Cutting open his thumb he etched on the last few of the lines to finish the seal.

It wasn't a scroll, and he was more or less winging it off of what he could remember of both the seals he'd seen people use and of what little he could recall from the time Jiraiya had tried to teach him about it.

He hadn't listened back then. He'd been too busy learning other techniques from other people. He'd always have time to come back and learn seals later he'd thought.

Stupid...

He knelt, placing the paper on the floor and channeling chakra into the seal matrix.

_Hope this works._

Before his seal could activate however, a voice on the other side of a junked car pile caught his attention.

"Oi, aren't you Shuyu Koukin from Nanyo?"

* * *

Making his way back towards his home, Koukin's concern only grew as his thoughts kept revolving around this whole thing.

His cousin was a naive, sweet girl, and he'd promised himself years ago he'd protect her as best he could when he learned the meaning and destiny tied to their Magatama.

And now here he was, with Rakuyo academy moving after her and him unable to do anything about it.

He could read between the lines of Ganjuu's words, things were going to get tense against Toutaku soon, and even though Hakufu, hadn't really done anything "wrong" so to speak, until the school was ready, or had no choice but to move in the open against Toutaku, all Hakufu would have to help her would be him.

Just him.

He knew there were better fighters out there, much better, more powerful ones. Knew that there was no way he would be able to stop them if they sent some of the real heavy hitters after Hakufu.

Even more than that, he had to pay attention. The other day he'd found Hakufu wearing someone's jacket, he should have known something happened, should have asked her about it. This time there was admittedly very little he could do, but perhaps next ti-

"Oi, aren't you Shuyu Koukin from Nanyo?"

Kou stopped, pausing mid step as he turned his eyes to see ten or so people damn near crawling out of the woodwork of junked cars. The one who'd spoken was wearing a yellow sweater, along with a hat.

"Yes." He answered carefully a warning chill crawling up his spine. "Who are you?"

"What's the accessory doing taking a walk by itself?" The man taunted and that warning bell at the back of Koukin's head became an alarm.

"What's that supposed to mean."

"You're always following that chick around. Like an accessory. About as useful as one too."

Koukin looked at the magatama on the mans ear. "Apparently you're a fighter. What school are you from?"

He took off his hat, standing up from where he'd been sitting over the junked cars. "Hanno, from Youshu highschool. Now lets skip right to the point shall we. I don't need anything from you, really. I just need to meet this Hakufu girl.

"What would Yoshu want with Hakufu?" _Is Toutaku sending them after my cousin too?_

"We just have some business to discuss." Hano said, much too poisonous for his liking.

A sound behind him made him turn to look over his shoulder, finding three more of them at his back as the ones infront closed in.

The sound of more footsteps reached his ears, and Koukin wondered just how many there were when he looked and found a homeless bum making his way closer.

Hanno looked at the man as well. "Who the hell are you? Get outa here unless you wanna get hurt dumbass."

The man pulled back the cloth over his head, revealing his blond hair as he ran a hand through the spiky tresses.

"Thanks for the warning. But fourteen on one is hardly a fair fight."

Fourteen? Koukin looked around, Hanno still in his place, nine infront, three behind him..

Someone stepped out from behind another car pile, a massive man in a white T-shirt, dark skinned and sporting two huge braids.

"Impressive." He said simply.

The blond seemed to smile behind the mask that still covered his face. "I try."

Hanno however, looked just as shocked as Koukin. "Ta-Taishiji!? What are you doing here!? We don't need you for this!"

"Why? Because your target is a girl?" The braided man's expression darkened. "Or because you'd rather do something else besides fight her."

Hanno flinched, and Taishiji turned his eyes onto him. "I'll deal with you later."

* * *

Though keeping his eyes on the exchange Naruto did not miss the movement behind Koukin.

"Behind ya kid."

The fist struck his jaw when he turned, but Naruto could admit to being mildly impressed at the fact that he nevertheless managed to respond with a kick of his own, a side kick to the stomach, good form too.

Right then another of his attackers was about to strike again, this time, the boy wouldn't be fast enough. His foot hadn't even got back down to the ground yet.

So Naruto moved, slower than he was used to, but faster than these people. His foot lashed up in a perfect back-hook, rising up and catching the attacker across the nose with his booted heel.

The crunch of bone and spurt of blood was an obvious indicator that something there was broken.

Given the fact that the man kept shouting about his nose and one could safely assume the damage was around that area.

The Kid, Koukin, stood, shock on his face, and Naruto was forced to shove his head aside with one hand and catch the fist rushing towards the back of it with his other.

He was quite surprised when Koukin spun in place and lashed out a foot that caught whoever had been approaching the Shinobi's back. Naruto knew about it and was ready to take the hit. Nice of the kid to do his part.

The blond went to twist his captives wrist when the man called Taishiji barked out a simple command.

"Enough!"

The attackers stopped, and Naruto tightened his grip for a second or two, for good measure before letting go, allowing the man to rub his aching fingers.

Taishiji, nearly a full head taller than Naruto himself, and a full head and shoulders taller than Koukin, walked up to them. "I apologize. One of our stupid members got dumber it seems." He looked to Koukin through the lens of his sunglasses. "We will withdraw. My orders are for the girl, Hakufu. Not for you."

* * *

Koukin heard his words, watched the men step back as Taishiji said the word, "withdraw" could almost feel the tension of the fight evaporating from the air.

But Koukin wouldn't...couldn't let his last words stand like this.

He could not let him..Taishiji, get to Hakufu.

* * *

"Taishiji you bastard." Hanno growled and Naruto for his part, thought this would be the end of it really. Just by the way the others were acting he could tell this Taishiji guy had the last word, period.

But then he saw Koukin take up his fighting stance again his expression tightening into one of determination.

"I can't let you get to Hakufu."

The teenager turned his head to him, speaking. "Sir. Thank you for your help. But please step back, you should not try to face him."

Taishiji smiled. "Ahh...so you do know who I am."

"Taishiji-Shigi." Koukin answered. "You are one of the top fighters in the whole region."

"Knowing that, you still raise your hand against me?"

"Yes. Even if you are stronger than me, I wont let you reach Hakufu."

Taishiji smiled. "Say that after you've landed one hit. If you're able to do that. I'll forget about the fight with Hakufu. Though in truth, your faith would be better placed in the man beside you."

* * *

Naruto's expression was almost comical, looking around before realizing they meant him. "Oh, you mean me?"

Taishiji smirked. "You are a fighter with rare skill. But I haven't heard of anyone that fits your description. So. Who are you."

"Well, if by fighter you mean, that I can fight, then yeah. But somehow I think you mean something else eh?"

"So you say you're not one of us then? That you do not hold a Magatama."

"I have no idea what you're even talking about to be honest." He answered with a broad shoulder shrug.

The next thing anyone saw was Taishiji's fist held back by Naruto's hand.

The dark skinned man smiled. "I'm afraid I'll have to label you a liar."

"I'm afraid I'll have to label you wrong." His fingers tingled with pins and needles. This guy had power behind that punch he could say that much.

They both saw Koukin move at the same instant, one foot lashing out like a whip, lightning fast to most eyes Taishiji pulled back, the very edge of Koukin's sneaker catching his sunglasses, as the man's retaliatory fist found its home in Koukin's stomach.

His glasses fell away with a crack straight down the bridge cradle, revealing his smirking features. "You landed a hit then."

Well...he did now that Naruto thought about it. Those sunglasses certainly got what had been coming to them. And the hit had been one of the most opportunistic ones he'd ever seen.

But it was a hit.

Koukin doubled over, coughing out bloody saliva as he cradled his stomach. He would have fallen if Naruto hadn't hooked one arm under his to keep him upright.

The dark skinned man smiled down at Koukin, and looked at Naruto with a strange smile before he turned and walked away. "We're leaving."

Hanno protested, cursing Taishiji to high heaven, but as Naruto expected, the bulk of this little group had lost their drive. Taishiji was the boss here.

As they turned to leave the dark skinned male turned, and Naruto's eyes met his.

He had very little doubt the man had probably let Koukin hit him on some level.

He looked down at Koukin, who hissed his breaths through pink stained teeth. "You okay kid?"

"Give me a second." He coughed some more, damn near hacking up a lung and this time it wasn't stained spit but bright red blood that fell from his lips.

"Well, that's not good." Naruto commented, pulling the boys arm up to rest over his shoulder as the strength in the youth's legs gave way.

He started coughing again and Naruto half wondered if there'd been some latent chakra or something behind that punch.

"Alright kiddo, lets get to your house, or a friend, or...something." When the boy choked trying to speak, Naruto asked him to just point.

Following the direction of his finger they began shuffling along.

* * *

It was almost half a mile later when the boy seemed to get his breathing back to normal, and almost a full mile before he seemed to regain his strength for speaking.

"Thank you."

"Not a problem." Naruto answered. "So what was that about?"

Koukin looked up at the masked blond, cerulean blues looking back down at him.

"You really don't know?"

"I should?"

"The way you fight, surely you must-"

"I 'must' nothing. Just because I know how to kick someone in the face doesn't mean everyone's joined a club or something."

At the boys incredulous silence Naruto found himself sighing. Pulling the youth's arm out from around his neck, he let him stand on his own, keeping a firm grip on his bicep incase his legs gave out again.

"I'm serious. Start from the beginning. Infact, lets start with-this" His finger flicked the earring dangling from Koukin's left earlobe striking it with a dull clink.

Instinctively the teenager jerked back, one hand flying to the magatama.

"This is-" He paused, half hesitating, probably still wondering if he was serious. "This is my magatama."

"And all of you 'fighters' have one?"

"Yes." He answered. "One that's ours alone. It houses the spirits of ancient warriors we are their reincarnations."

Naruto tried not to show his sudden interest, the story reminding him far too much of a certain doe eyed time traveling priestess. "Really?"

"Yes." Koukin answered. "Every fighter keeps his Magatama close, it helps unlock their full potential...and..." He hesitated. "Its just...very important."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and the boy _knew_ that he knew he was holding something back, but he'd let it go for now.

"Alright. So I gathered those guys were after this Hakufu girl right? Any particular reason?"

"Hakufu fought with a member from Kyosho against some people from Toutaku, or someone affiliated with them. I'm not sure, anyway, that means that now Toutaku is after her and Nanyo won't-"

"You're throwing down a lot of names." Naruto cut him off. "Like I said. Start from the beginning."

Koukin had to wonder who this man was to not recognize these names he was 'throwing down'. These were the top schools of the entire region. He must have been living under some kind of rock to have not heard about them.

"There are several schools. Each with their own fighters. Nanyo, is my school, and Hakufu's. Then there's Kyosho, Seito, Yoshu, Rakuyo, Gogun.

"And the people back there-"

"Were from Yoshu. Sent by Toutaku."

"And Toutaku is-"

"The leader of Rakuyo private school."

"So if he's the leader of Rakuyo, why is Yoshu doing what he wants."

"Because everyone is afraid of Toutaku." The teenager answered as though that should be obvious. "Several smaller schools are too terrified of him to do anything. The only school that's openly fighting him is Kyosho."

"Ahh I see." Naruto nodded. "And you said your cousin helped someone from Kyosho so now-"

"They're after her."

"And they're making someone else do the dirty work. Shrewd."

"How is it that you don't know any of this?" Koukin blurted. "No one who isn't a fighter could have taken on Taishiji. He's one of the five top ranked fighters in the entire region."

"Oh well someone should have told me that sooner." He laughed. "I should go apologize for making him look bad or something."

"You're talking like its nothing at all."

Naruto shrugged. "Been in a lot of fights."

"But this was Taishiji. He's beaten whole groups by himself."

"Doesn't matter. There's always someone stronger."

"So you're saying you're stronger than Taishiji?"

"Not to sound conceited or anything, but I kinda know I am. Fought people a lot stronger than him and lived..." He paused, eyes rolling skyward as he decided to amend the statement. "sort of."

Before Koukin could ask what he meant by that the blond spoke up again, startling him. "This your home?"

He looked up, realizing that indeed they were outside his fenced home. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

Naruto pointed at a sign next to the doorway. "Shuyu" Engraved in kanji.

"Oh...Right."

"Well you should be fine from here." The blond said, clapping him on the shoulder. "And that means I've got to get moving."

But Koukin suddenly got an idea, like a lightswitch turning on at the back of his head. "Wait!"

The blond vagabond paused. "Hmm?"

Before Koukin could say another word however, the door to the estates fence swung open, revealing Hakufu standing there, sandy orange hair in a mess from her exercise. "Koukin!" She yelled, her cheeks almost puffing out in anger. "Where'd you go. You had me worried! And we weren't done practici-uh"

She paused, just realizing Naruto was there. "Oh. Hello." She smiled, bowing pleasantly, not the least bit put off by his bedraggled appearance. "I'm Sonsaku Hakufu. Nice to meet you."

Naruto smiled. "Hello to you to, I'm Naruto Uzumaki." It was then Koukin realized he hadn't even bothered to learn his name up to that point."

"Are you one of Koukin's friends?" She asked, and Naruto started to get the impression she wasn't exactly the sharpest kunai knife in the pouch.

"More like a recent acquaintance you could say." He answered blithely.

The youth in question came to the proverbial rescue. "Hakufu- could you go and check on the stove, I think I might have left it on."

"Huh? The stove?"

And just like that she walked back into the house.

"That had to be the most blatant 'Get lost' I've ever seen."

Koukin winced. He hated lying to his cousin. "She's not stupid, just...too trusting."

Naruto smiled kindly at the defense. It was good that people valued family. They tended to take them for granted.

And given the fact that he was willing to take on Taishiji, who he was obviously terrified of, earned him some leeway.

"Alright, so now before she comes back what exactly is it you want to say?"

Koukin took a breath. "This might sound weird"

"Trust me kid. I've heard weirder."

And as the boy spoke, Naruto half listened.

The other half of his thoughts were around the things the boy had just revealed to him on the walk here.

Jewels...and reincarnation.

He'd seen these things before.

And not for the first time he wondered just what could have gone so wrong in the Sengoku period to alter everything so drastically.

* * *

Got some good news and bad news my readers.

Good news is, there's a new chapter out. :

Badnews is there wont be one for at least another two to three weeks. Finals are right around the corner for me and I need to start studying as of right now. So that will be taking precedence.

My next update will also most likely be Souls of Heroes rather than Jewels of Fate or Void as well.

At any rate I hope you enjoyed this chapter now that we're starting to move somewhere plotwise.


	4. Chapter 4

Upon their meeting just a day or so ago, Naruto had quickly determined that Hakufu was not the sharpest blade in the holster.

He had been wrong.

Far _far_ too kind in that assessment.

For instance, she'd barely even questioned his sudden and fairly constant presence in her day to day outside of classrooms.

That is to say, she hadn't questioned it at all.

He was just "Koukin's friend Naruto."

And that was that.

So yeah...not exactly the sharpest blade in the holster.

Not to say the girl was annoying or irritating really, he'd seen a lot worse.

But she was...

"Where is my pencil?" She questioned, frantically searching around the library desk. Lifting papers, books, rearranging them before repeating the process all over again.

It was somewhat sad to watch really. Reaching forward, he caught the girls wide eyed stare as he reached back behind her ear and plucked the writing utensil out from the fold of soft cartilage.

Her face lit up, and Naruto wondered how exactly a pencil could bring such joy when she opened her mouth. "You know magic tricks!?"

He blinked, disbelieving for a moment before his face crinkled up, laughter bubbling from behind his mask as his shoulders shook.

She blinked, wide green eyes staring owlishly with all the clueless naivete of a child. "What's so funny?"

He waved her off, sighing. "Heh, nothing." He muttered, blinking to fight back the tears of mirth.

"Hey come on tell me!" She pouted.

He looked down at her work. "Don't you have an assignment to complete?"

"Oh!"

And just like that, her...limited attention span swiveled back down to her math problems.

* * *

"Wha-bu-but we're not ready!" Koukin found himself just shy of shouting. "Hakufu is still just an amateur and I'm not-"

"You're all we've got." Gakushu interrupted. "Saji is missing, Kanmei is insane."

"What about Ryomou."

"Ryomou will do what she wishes. She always has." Gakushu shrugged. "If she shows up, all the better for us. If she does not then the only people who can represent our school in this tournament are you, Hakufu and myself. With every school able to bring five fighters, Nanyo needs to at least put up a show of force, even if we don't win. I can't do that by myself."

"But we're hardly top ranked fighters!" Koukin said, trying one last time, though he knew the chances of Gakushu being pushed from this with the situation so bleak were slim to none. "If even one person like-"

"I know. But as I said, you're the best we've got. I'm the only one of Nanyo's so called "Big four" ready to fight this year. You and Hakufu must help me unless you want to show the rest of the schools we're ready to be trampled over."

Then the big student dug in the knife.

"Besides, the only way to give Toutaku pause in coming after Hakufu is if we show him Nanyo has a strong force to back her up."

Koukin jerked as if he'd been slapped, and they both knew Gakushu had him.

* * *

The water clattered down from the vending machine, Naruto twisted his head, looking at the contraption's mouth before crouching down and taking the water bottle.

Such an ingenious idea. Rather than having a stand everywhere, people could just fill up these drink machines and leave them to collect money. Just coming in every now and again to get money and refill it.

Perhaps when he got back to the past he could take some...liberties.

He chuckled at the thought, trying to avoid becoming morose at the constant nagging of "_If_" That plagued his every waking moment, even when he pushed it far far back into the recesses of his thoughts.

He pocketed the change, The clothes Koukin had given him fit surprisingly well, and allowed for almost as much freedom of movement as his normal Shinobi gear, so he was hardly complaining.

Although he did notice the mask tended to draw more stares rather than avert them. Perhaps he should consider getting rid of it...

After a moment of thought. He shrugged.

_Nah_.

Making his way back to Hakufu, his sharp ears picked up two student's conversation.

"-ey say Taichiji won't wake up."

Stopping dead in his tracks, it took the blond half a second to fully register that statement before doing an abrupt about face, marching over to the two students in question, they were so absorbed in their conversation they didn't notice him until he tapped the both of them on the shoulder.

"Excuse me-I couldn't help but overhear-"

* * *

When Naruto walked back into the library, it was to the sight of a miserable looking Sonsaku Hakufu, her face flat against the table, her math texts and notes all a mess infront of her.

He walked over, a smile tugging at his lips as he placed the water bottle on the smooth wood. "Having trouble?"

She swiveled up her head to look at him, miserable, glistening eyes staring up into his amused blues. "I hate _maaaaaaath_." She all but sobbed.

He stretched his hand forward, patting her head. "There there." He pushed the bottle forward. "I brought you some water.

She grabbed at the bottle, bringing it to her lips and all but chugging it down. "Thanks."

He smiled, sitting down. "Chin up." He said. "Your white knight's here."

She blinked, confused, before looking at the entrance, finding Koukin walking over. Her whole face lit up. "Koukin!"

A hissing, sharp "_Shh_." From the librarian made her wince.

The blue haired teen made his way forward, smiling at his cousin, though, even she could tell it was a strained thing. "Hey, Koukin. What's wrong?"

"Well..." He began, hesitating a bit. "There's no easy way to say this so I'm just gonna come out with it-"

She gasped. Her eyes going wide as dinner plates. "You're gay!?"

"_Shh!"_

Naruto guffawed at Koukin's horror stricken face.

"_Shh!"_

"What!" He bellowed! Red as a tomato.

"_Shhhh!"_

"You're not gay?" She ventured, hesitantly.

"_Shhhh!"_

"**No**"

"Because Its alright if you are Koukin. I love you anyway!"

"**SHHHHHH!"**

Naruto. At this point, deciding to join in on the fun, swiveled his chair around to the hissing librarian.

"Ma'am. Please. Keep down your Shushing sounds. This is a library."

If looks could kill Naruto would be little more than a charred corpse.

* * *

"I can't believe we were kicked out of a library. Can they do that?" Hakufu wondered to herself, her cheeks still puffed up in irritation at the positively _rude _librarian.

Naruto laughed to himself, chuckling under his breath before turning his eyes onto Koukin. "So what's this you wanted to say?"

"Well." He ventured, looking at his cousin as though bracing himself for her reaction. "Gakushu, said me and Hakufu are going to represent Nanyo in the tournament."

Hakufu's head swiveled around so fast Naruto was half certain she'd snapped her spine. Her green eyes shimmered like diamonds, a child just told they were going to get their every desire for their coming birthday and more. "What!" She yelled, her hands suddenly on Koukin's shoulders. "Really! We really get to go? We get to fight all the strong fighters of the other schools!? Really!"

"Yes but Hakufu this isn't a-"

She squealed so loud Naruto was sure one of his ear drums must have ruptured. He actually winced, reeling. Koukin seemed to stagger as though his inner ear functions had been compromised in some way."

"Oh this is so exciting! I have to get home! I have to train! I have to find out who the other schools are sending! Or maybe I should leave it a surprise! I have to tell mama!"

Koukin opened his mouth to speak but the dusky haired girl screeched out a high pitched cry that bored right through their skulls again before she turned and began racing down the sidewalk.

"I'll see you at home Koukin!"

Naruto blinked, wondering for a brief moment if he could move that fast in his current state before looking to his 'client' "Well...she's certainly excited."

Koukin sighed and Naruto smiled, half wanting to shake his own head. "But you're not. So come on. Tell me. What's the specifics of this tournament."

Koukin looked at him, half sighing again before he explained. "Its a tournament between the schools held every three years. It more or less serves to keep the balance of power in check by establishing each schools strength." Naruto nodded. The chuunin exams had also been for more than simply telling clients who could get the job done. It was a big part of it sure, but a bigger part was the simple line in the sand.

Cross it and this is the taste of what you'll be facing.

He could see this arrangement working out to avoid turf wars and such...or at least minimize them.

"The school that wins gets something called the Gokuji. Its more symbolic than anything really...but"

"Symbols are often times the most important things to people." Naruto finished, nodding in understanding. Symbols brought prestige, clout and could be used in any number of ways rather than just occupying space in a glass box. "Continue."

Koukin nodded. "So each school sends their best fighters to go at it every time. Fatalities are...known, to happen."

"Hmm." Naruto nodded. "And tournaments are always ripe ground for 'accidents' to happen if outright killing Hakufu proves to be nonviable for whatever reason right? You think this Toutaku guy's gonna use this as a chance to try and get to her again right?"

"Yeah, but its not just that!" Koukin stressed, turning to face the masked blond completely. "Its also the fact that there could be a _real_accident. Seito, Kyosho. Everyone is sending their _best. __P_eople just like Taishiji. Even one punch from them might cripple Hakufu!"

Naruto's features softened a bit. "I see. When's the tournament?"

"In three days."

"Hmmm. Can you and Hakufu skip a day or two of school?"

"I guess but why would-"

"She's got the right idea in training." He cut the youth off. "I've never seen your full abilities really, and there's little I can do in two days available, but I can make sure neither of your necks snap with an all too strong punch if you know how to take it.

"Well..." Koukin ventured. "If you think it'll help-"

Naruto shrugged. "It won't hurt."

Koukin had to agree with that, but still looked unsure.

Naruto sighed, grasping him by a shoulder. "Don't worry. I've taught people how to fight better before."

"You have?" Koukin questioned. "So your training is good?"

Naruto thought back, remembering how once Kagome had referred to his methods as something along the lines of:

"_Walking across salt with six inch nails buried into the soles of your feet while carrying a flimsy bag of razor blades in your hands."_

"You could say that." He ventured.

Then he looked back down to the youth. "Now I got something to tell you."

"Hmm?" Koukin blinked, curious.

"Taishiji was attacked and wounded."

The youth gasped, reeling as if Naruto had sucker-punched him.

He probably had really.

"Wha-But-Who?"

"His own people by the rumors floating around. Stabbed him, close to the spine, so they probably came up from behind when he wasn't expecting it, not sure how many other attackers there were, but he's in a coma right now."

Koukin blinked, looking as though he was searching for something, anything to really say to this.

Naruto tilted his head, watching his client with a somewhat lazy expression. "So what exactly do you want to do?"

Koukin blinked. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Come on kid." Naruto chastised with little bite. "You can figure this out. If his own people attacked Taishiji, and were ready to loose someone that strong, it means he did something that royally pissed them off."

The pieces clicked together in Koukin's head. "The promise he-"

"Right." Naruto said with a slow nod. "To not go after Hakufu. That means that if they were ready to try and kill him because of that, they're for damn sure ready to go after Hakufu. So the question is, what do you want me to do about it?"

Koukin blinked and Naruto had to remind himself that this was still just a teenager, and the simple words that would have carried his message to any contract he'd taken...back in his time period, wouldn't translate well enough here.

"The deal was simple. You give me food, some clothes and a roof. I protect you and Hakufu." He'd wondered at the boy's ability to actually provide him housing when they'd first struck the deal. But Koukin, or at least his family, he'd later learn, was filthy rich. The boy had so much money he couldn't get rid of it if he threw it out. Hakufu and her mother, Gomei, were living with him practically for free.

"This extends to hitting before you get hit. I'm asking if you want me to go after this...what's it called? Yoshi?"

"Yoshu."

"Whatever. Yoshu academy."

"You think you can take down the whole school."

Naruto shrugged. "Probably, unless they have like ten more fighters like that Taishiji guy. If they do, the second best thing I'm good at is running. Rather fast mind you."

Koukin's first sense was to flat out say no. There were only a handful of people who could ever walk into a rival school by themselves and have a chance of coming out. Even if they didn't have an S rank fighter like Taishiji, there were still others of A ranks and B ranks. Enough of those could take down anyone in sufficient numbers.

But still, he bit his lip, stifling the word in his mouth as he reconsidered.

Yoshu would be going to the tournament...and even if they didn't have the best fighters...if they were able to cheat in the same way they must have cheated to bring down Taishiji then they could definitely hurt Hakufu.

He didn't like this. He'd 'hired' Naruto to defend them if some other A rank or S rank was sent after them, not to throw him to the proverbial wolves like an attack dog. He was volunteering true, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth to be disregarding his safety like this...

Still...

He looked up, and Naruto was leaning a little closer, looking at his face, finding the answer there. The blond nodded. "Alright...There's only one question you need to answer now. Though I'm pretty sure I know the answer, I need to make sure."

"And what's that?" The teenager asked.

Naruto pulled out a knife brandishing it between both their faces. "Incapacitated or dead?"

* * *

"So who are we sending to the tournament?" Sitting around one of the many rooms of Yoshu high, several of the top ranked students, including Hannou and the head student Seinei Ryudo ate their food as they spoke.

"Does it matter?" Someone answered. "We already know who Seito is sending. No way we can stand up to that"

"So what? We do what we always do then? Side with whoever the hell wins?"

"It is what half the schools do already."

The door burst open, another student all but barging in, his eyes scanning the entire room. "You guys need to come see this!"

By the time they reached the schools main courtyard, it was already a sight to be seen, with nearly a dozen students groaning on the floor, the startling sight of red blood staining the ground bringing several of the new arrivals up short.

When they looked at their attacker, dressed in a ragged sack cloak, along with a mask and blond hair. Hannou remembered him instantly.

"Boss! Its that guy! The one I told you about! The one who fought Taishiji?"

"What?" Ryudo's reaction would have been comical if it wasn't so pitiful. The blond across from them could almost smell the new stink of fear.

"Yes." He said, flourishing the knife in his hand as he bowed. "Its me."

Standing up he twirled the kunai by the finger ring. "Don't think you'll be able to get me with a cheap shot to the spine."

"What the hell do you want!?" Ryudo yelled, and Naruto saw the remaining students moving carefully to surround him. Wouldn't do them much good really.

"Well...ya see." He scratched at his temple with the pointed tip. "Its like this. I have an employer. My employer wants to keep Sonsaku Hakufu safe for the time being. Meaning he doesn't like you very much since you've made it relatively clear you're ready to keep going after her."

"Keh." The head student of Yoshu High snorted. "Employer huh? Who is it? Kyosho? Gogun? Nanyo? Please." He scoffed. "Name their price and I'll double it, easy."

What Yoshu had always lacked in fighters they more than made up for in currency. A lot of money went through these hallways. Most of it dirty, drugs, racketeering, extortion, but that didn't matter to people when they got their hands on it.

"Oh...I have no doubt that you could. Considering how dirt cheap my prices are" Naruto said with a careless shrug. "But my employer doesn't like you."

"So what?"

"I don't like you either."

"You coming after us to protect this Hakufu chick? Really? Why not go after Toutaku and Rakuyo private school then?"

Naruto chuckled. "Well because by all accounts you people are a rather weak bunch. The fact that you're bending over for this guy says a lot even when you had Taishiji with you. So forgive me for not being stupid and charging at the strongest guy without first doing an appraisal of how easy or difficult it'll be to thoroughly trample you people."

Before Ryudo could say anything more, the blond cracked his neck rolling it from one side to the other with a series of crunches. "Now if you don't mind I'm going to put you and your buddies through a lengthy period of indescribable agony that some of you might recover from in varying time periods...and some of you might not." He smiled an eerie quirk of the lips that sent a shiver down their spines.

"I say we proceed with that plan without much more delay."

* * *

The air tasted acrid, like grit, stone and dirt. It was harsh against his tongue and throat, like gravel scraping across the inside of his windpipe with every breath.

He curled his nose, lips pursing as he stood to his full height inspecting the form he'd been gifted with for this.

The cold ocean water lapped at his feet, daring to venture back now that he'd arrived, touching him like a greeting.

There was some scuffle, the noise irritated his new-found senses, raising his eyes, he found the mortals there, standing at the edge of the small shockwave ripple he'd left in the sands.

They reeked and muttered to each other in voices they believed to be whispers but were infact, all too loud to his ears.

'_Fallen star'_

_Heavens_

_Trick_

_Demon_

All these things and more he heard from the lips of these mortal men, who's lives were measured in years and decades. None of them concerned him.

Raising his hand towards the eldest looking male, he spoke, his clear voice as new to them as it was to him.

"You there. Where might I find the Hanyou? The one known as Inuyasha?"

* * *

Well classes are done and everything's good again for the next few months. So here's an update. Hopefully i'll be able to update with more frequency if everything goes well. Hope you all enjoyed it R&R.


	5. Chapter 5

Humming a tune to himself as he woke, showered and dressed himself, Naruto quietly descended the stairs in the wee hours of the morning.

During his week staying in Koukin's home, it had not taken him very long to get curious of the drink Gomei, Hakufu's mother and Koukin's aunt, drank every morning.

Coffee.

Subsequently, it had not taken him very long to determine how to work the coffee maker on his own.

So here he stood now, listening to the machine brewing the bitter, dark drink.

Hearing the soft wisps of socked feet making their way across the hardwood floors behind him, he turned to look over his shoulder, finding the eldest member of the household.

"Ahh Miss, Gomei, good morning." He said, smiling through his mask.

"Naruto-san. She greeted, smiling pleasantly, dressed in an old style purple Japanese kimono, she made her way closer, already smelling the coffee heating up. "I trust you slept well yes?"

He nodded, hearing the machine chime, before he reached forward, picking out another clean glass and serving the both of them.

She added milk to hers, and three sugars. He kept his dark with one sugar.

The woman hummed appreciatively as she took a sip. "That's good. Better than mine."

Opening her eyes, Naruto noticed a keen sharpness there that wasn't before. "Were you just pretending to not know how to make this before. Its almost as though you made coffee professionally before you came here."

He met her gaze, watching the unflinching stare of this woman.

It appeared that, at least in the naivety department, the apple had fallen far from the tree.

"Oh no. Just a simple..." What was it now that Koukin had told him to say. "Freelance photographer."

"With no camera?" She asked in a voice that implied nothing if you weren't really listening.

"It broke." He answered simply. "Haven't had a chance to get a new one."

She took another sip. "Ahh I see. Its good to know Koukin has friends. The boy keeps things so private its as though you came out of thin air."

He smiled fiddling with the cup on the counter he hadn't even taken a sip from yet. "I'm getting the impression you would like to ask me something." He said coyly.

She set her own cup down. "More like something I'd like to speak with you about. I can guess that you're a strong fighter. And I can also guess that Koukin..." She paused, smiling. "Sweet boy that he is, found you to help him protect Hakufu."

One of Naruto's eyebrows rose.

He'd been right. The apple fell _far_ from the tree.

"And how'd you figure that?"

She shrugged, a delicate rise of her shoulders. "Koukin arrives here one day, bruised from a fight, on your shoulder, introduces you to us, says your staying here, just a week or so before the Fighter's tournament between the schools, and Hakufu comes in for the last few days saying how she spent the day, and how you've been throwing tips to her and Koukin while they've been getting ready for the tournament. Its a little obvious."

Naruto shrugged, a fair point.

"Now, while I appreciate Koukin's efforts...you should leave."

He raised an eyebrow.

The woman's gaze was steely, with a hint of sorrow present in her chocolate brown orbs. "What Koukin is making you do...it'll end in futility."

"Oh?"

She nodded.

"He wouldn't tell you...I know he wouldn't because I know Koukin. But the Magatama's are more than just the jewels that house the spirits of ancient warriors, they also tie the bearer to that warriors fate."

Naruto leaned forward, interested. "Go on."

"Hakufu has a destiny. One that can't be changed."

"So you're saying she'll die the same way the spirit of that jewel died?"

"Yes." She nodded, but there was no victory here in being correct. "Everyone has tried to change it at one point...it doesn't work. I've accepted that."

Naruto leaned back where he sat on the counter, taking a breath as he laced his fingers over his stomach, eyes closed in thought. "You know...there was a guy I used to know. Name was Neji. Kind of an ass, back in the day. He thought the exact same thing. Fate couldn't be changed no matter what you did. And you know what I did when he told me that?"

She shook her head. But a smile tugged at her lips, as if she could guess.

"I changed it."

She looked down. "Well...I will say no more. Even...even if I don't think you can, I certainly won't try to stop you from helping my daughter. I just hope Koukin..."

Naruto nodded. "Not that it'll happen...but he'll be fine if it does."

Taking a breath, the woman picked up her bag. "Well, there's a lot to do today. I guess I'll be off then.

"Bye now." He answers, smiling.

She nodded. "The streets are so much safer these days. You know, ever since those ruffians from Yoshu were put out of business." She stared right at him. "I heard they were into all sorts of nasty things."

Naruto shrugged. "Huh. Guess this city has a good Samaritan or something."

"I guess so." She said brightly, walking out the door a moment later.

Naruto placed his now empty cup in the sink, washing it out.

* * *

Ryofu Housen cursed lightly under her breath as she made her way through the halls of Rakuyo high, marching her way up the hills to the school's greenhouse.

She took a breath, steeling herself as she opened the glass door.

The strong scent of orchids was the first thing to hit her.

Kaku's voice was the second thing. "-aken down in one night."

Then she heard his voice.

Toutaku's.

And an all too familiar chill crawled down her spine.

She stepped closer, stopping at her usual place as she waited for him to speak up. He knew she was already here.

He brought a freshly cut flower to his nose, smiling thinly.

The beast of Rakuyo was a litany of bandages and cuts.

None were from opponents.

He'd done them all himself.

He was pale, stick thin with dark brown hair, hardly what anyone, not even she would have ever considered to be the beast that killed nearly the entirety of the Fighters that made up the tournament three years ago.

Just a first year student...

He turned to face her, his eyes pit black as he smiled. She turned her eyes to Kaku, who simply pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Ahhh Ryofu." He said, his voice like a snakes, slithering through the air.

Even in broad daylight, in a glass roofed house, this thing felt like it sucked out the light out of any room.

"Yes?" She asked, meeting his gaze.

"There's been something of an odd development." He smirked. "I have a job for you."

* * *

Naruto kept his hand as steady as he could.

_Such a curious thing. _He thought as the brush swept the ink over the page.

He'd recognized the fact that this world was much different than what he remembered from Kagome's time period.

But only now, as he meditated on what Gomei had said was it making any semblance of sense.

_'Sharing the fate of the spirits they embody.'_

The world seemed to work the same as Kagome's. People had jobs, drove, did their due diligence, the manner of speech, the manner of dress, the design of the buildings, communication, entertainment. Everything _seemed_ the same.

Except for the students of these high schools.

It was like these high schools were trapped in some kind of bubble, or perhaps better to say that everything worked _around_ them. Like the whole world was tip toeing over egg shells, going out of its way to let this happen despite what little he knew of Kagome's time telling him that it would do the opposite.

To blame it on something as conceptually all powerful as _fate_...well...

Firstly...he didn't believe in fate.

And even if he did, Fate had one small problem.

He was here.

He was not one of these 'Fighters' he was not someone who didn't have the strength to fight them on even grounds. He could 'kill' several of them off hand if he wanted to. And he was pretty sure Fate didn't have all these warriors die by _"Masked blond time traveling ninja extraordinaire."_

That meant that this couldn't be Fate in the literal sense. The all powerful, force that would literally bend whole centuries around a single, unshakeable plan down to the tiniest detail.

That meant, to him at least, that this so called _Fate_ was fallible.

That meant that more than some force of nature that was causing this there was _something_ causing this. Something that had gotten pissed off enough, or thrown so off key by him jumping forward in time that it was now doing this convoluted mess.

That meant that he was probably going to piss something off. Something that was a lot more powerful than him.

"_**You do not understand just how much of a travesty your very existence is to them now!"**_

Kyuubi's voice came back like a whip and Naruto took a deep, calming breath.

"Just how deep am I stepping into things here?"

He finished the last mark, just as he heard the steps descending the stairs, channeling chakra into his experiment as Hakufu strode into the kitchen with her sunlight smile. "Oh Naru-chan!" She cried. Eyes lighting up. "The fighter tournament's today!

He chuckled "I know. You've been bouncing off the walls since last night."

"Oh I wonder who I'll get to fight today!"

"No matter who it is, you'll remember what I taught you right?"

Her face dropped for half a second before it brightened again. "Right!" Tapping on her own head with her knuckles she stuck her tongue out. "I won't forget."

* * *

"**GOD DAMNIT!"**

Inuyasha's roar shook the earth, splinters of earth crushed under his all too tight fist.

The Hanyou seethed, and he could feel his rage like a palpable thing on his skin. The jingle of Miroku's staff made him whirl on the monk, his face scrunched up with wild fury. "Another bullshit decoy!" He all but threw the thing in Miroku's face.

The monk caught it, if only just staring at the same device they'd found in at least seven other places before this one. Little more than a black rock, shrouded in a mixture of the Kyuubi's power and Kagome's holy aura.

He could still sense at least four more from where they stood.

"At this rate, we'll travel the whole of the earth and still be doing nothing more than following her breadcrumbs."

He realized he'd spoken aloud when Inuyasha all but roared at him. "You have a better idea you useless sack of shit!"

"Inuyasha!" Sango barked out as she entered the clearing, a crease of anger over her forehead. "That's enough. Miroku is not at fault for this."

The Hanyou growled, looking like he was ready to snap either of them in two to let out his frustration before he stalked away, all but shoving Sango out of the way as he went into the forest.

The Demon slayer, snarled, her hand balling into a tight fist before she felt Miroku's hand over her shoulder. The Houshi shook his head. Asking her to let it go...

Again.

* * *

"You think it was the same guy?"

"I'm not sure who else it could have been." Kanu shrugged as the train lurched to a stop, her weapon resting on her shoulder. "A masked blond man-wiping out Yoshu in one night. Few people can do that. For it to be some one _else_ besides the vagabond that attempted to pickpocket Ryuubi-sama seems a little far fetched.

Chouhi sat back, blowing her bangs away from her eyes. "I guess. That also means you were right. He wasn't just some bum."

"Seems unlikely." Kanu agreed. "He would have no motivation to attack Yoshu if he were."

"So who do you think he's with?" Chouhi asked, pulling out some pocky sticks as she started to much on the chocolate dipped candy.

Kanu paused, thinking for a second or two."At this point there are only two schools I'd place him under. Nanyo and Kyosho.

"Why those two?" Chouhi asked, the bridge of her nose curling up in bewilderment.

"Its true Yoshu had many illicit dealings that could have backfired on them in any number of ways." Kanu admitted, allowing her head to fall onto her fist as she propped her elbow against the train seats railings. "But Yoshu was allied with Rakuyo, and so was fighting with Kyosho openly since, Kyosho is the only school that has brazenly declared their desire to eliminate Toutaku. So Kyosho has the motivation-and while I haven't heard much of Sousou as a leader he has many good fighters in his ranks, so they would have the clout to acquire someone like that."

Chouhi nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. And Nanyo?"

"The only reason I say Nanyo is because the grapevine has Yoshu deciding to go after a Nanyo student. I'm uncertain as to who, but these rumors started floating around at the same time Taichiji was crippled."

Chouhi perked up, her mind clicking to the conclusion. "You think this masked guy did that!?"

"He may have. Not one day went by before Yoshu was taken out completely. He could have gotten Taishiji out of the way or he may have capitalized on what happened to him in order to do it."

"Hey yeah but..." Chouhi paused, her brow wrinkling. "There were also rumors floating around that Taishiji was hurt by his own people at Yoshu...what if this guy was taking revenge or something."

Kanu shrugged. "Perhaps. Either way, we'd best keep an eye out. Ryuubi was right in warning us to go nowhere alone for the next few days."

The train lurched once more to a stop, and this time five men stepped inside. Along with one more, he was dressed in a suit however.

He looked them over. "Seito?"

She nodded, looking to Chouhi who had the widest grin on her face. "Can I do it?" She asked.

She took a breath. "Just remember that this isn't the last fight of the day, don't overdo it."

"Yeah yeah." The girl stood up, smiling like she'd just been given permission to eat all the candy in the store as she looked at the five who were across the train car.

* * *

Ryofu took a breath, closing the door of her room with a soft click as she made ready to leave. Locking the padlock and pocketing the keys.

"Ryofu-san!" She turned, feeling a soft smile lifting her lips. "Chinkyu."

Kodai Chinkyu, five foot two with sandy brown hair panted as she ran up to the taller, green haired girl, eyes brimming with worry. "Is it true!?"

Ryofu raised an eyebrow, though the smile didn't drop. "Is what true?"

"Toutaku-san is sending you to go find this masked man?"

She shrugged, her mood souring a bit at the mention of Toutaku's name. "Yeah. Wants me to find out who he's working for. _'Then kill him.'_

"Ryofu-san you've got to be careful. Half of Yoshu high is in the hospital right now from knife wounds."

Her smile found its place again. "Don't worry Chinkyu."

"Don't tell me not to-" She stopped, Ryofu's fingers cupping her chin as she leaned closer.

"Don't worry." The green haired girl repeated. "Its me remember."

And with that, her lips fell over the brunettes.

The kiss was quick, almost chaste, it still made Chinkyu blush beet red and completely speechless however. It always did.

Ryofu's smile became catlike. "I'll see you tonight then."

The smaller girl nodded, her cheeks aflame.

* * *

"Hey, Gaku-chan, what school are we gonna fight?" Hakufu asked, smiling brightly at the behemoth of Nanyo's big four. They were currently making their way towards the red line underground parking lot. To keep schools from gaining an advantage beforehand, the locations of the fights were not given out until just an hour or so before, enough time for the fighters to arrive.

"We were originally meant to fight Yoshu" He answered, not noticing how Koukin tensed at the words.

"Yo-Yoshu?"

He nodded. "Yes, though with what's happened to them with that masked man, who knows if they even have the fighters to risk. We may simply win by forfeit. In which case our fight will be between either Seito school or Nanban private. Then whoever wins that goes up to the semi finals, to decide who goes against Rakuyo High in the final day of fighting."

"Ohhh." Hakufu let out, eyes going skyward. "And Rakuyo's automatically in the finals because they won the last tournament right?"

"Yes. Though I'm not sure who they'll-"

"Ahh, guys wait a moment I'm thirsty." Koukin interrupted, running over towards a gas station on the other side of the street.

"Eh, Koukin?" His cousin called after him, considering following before deciding against it, turning her eyes back to Gakushu to keep talking.

Koukin entered the gas station/convenience store making his way over to the refrigerators as he looked around.

"You know...now that I think about it maybe we should have come up with a code phrase whenever you wanted to talk about something.

He swiveled around on his heel, finding the masked blond standing there, noticing somewhere in the back of his thoughts that the store clerk was reaching under his counter with a wary look in his eye. "We're fighting Yoshu!"

Naruto nodded. "Maybe. The big guy did say they could just forfeight outright."

"I thought you dealt with all of them."

"I dealt with the ones that were there. Which was a sizable chunk but there still could have been quite a few people outside the school at the time."

Koukin ran a hand through his hair, frustration and worry seeping into his voice. "But now they might go after-"

"They might." Naruto interrupted, calming him down. "You worry too much though. Remember, you hired me to protect her right?" At the youths nod, he smiled. "So trust me a bit. I'm right behind you guys every step of the way, and if things get too hectic, I'll step in. Its best to keep people guessing where the "masked man is" makes em nervous and stupid so I won't just jump in at the drop of a hat. But I will be there when things get real bad alright?

Koukin took a breath, breathing out through his nostrils. "Alright"

"Good. Now get going or you guys are gonna be late.

* * *

Chouhi cursed, as they stepped off the train, the moaning, groaning, bleeding bodies of the Nanban students left in their wake.

"You did well." Kanu said.

Chouhi fought the urge to tell her to shut up. She was just trying to cheer her up, a novelty for Kanu really though that didn't really soothe her wounded ego, or the throbbing pain from the shoulder recently popped back into place. "No I didn't."

"You defeated three of five."

"And you could have beaten all five, even if they'd come at you all at once."

Kanu, looked at her friend. She wasn't good with words. Perhaps one of the others would do better in this situation. But she was never made for these things.

"Come on" She said. "Lets see if we can reach the clinic to get your arm looked at before fight's decided between Nanyo and Yoshu."

"Yeah." Chouhi said, a miserable tone to her words as she winced with each movement of her sore, protesting joint.

* * *

The parking lot was actually quite perfect if Naruto had to be honest with himself.

So many places these days had so many _lights_ it was a tedium to get around in stealth even at night.

But here, the clear, white fluorescent lights made the shadows dark against an already dark granite surroundings. It was practically made for someone to sneak around unseen with support columns and a plethora of the students parked cars. They had the lot all to themselves with several of the "neutral school's" students holding out signs up front that the lot was full.

All n All he had the best seats in the house as far as ninja seats went.

Gakushu was first up and Naruto offered a mental 'good luck' to the guy.

The Yoshu students looked _pissed_

And they were glaring daggers at Hakufu.

The girl seemed to notice, leaning over to whisper to Koukin. "Hey...why do they look so mad?"

She whispered, but either the parking lot had great sound amplification features or the Yoshu student had Kyuubi's ears.

"You sicked that masked freak on us you bitch!" He all but snarled. "My friend can't even move his left arm now!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. _'Left arm? When did I...Oh he must be talking about that __thing with the fork and spoon__.'_

"As soon as I'm done with this guy, I'll paint the floor of this place with your skull."

Hakufu blinked, the hostility washing over her with no effect as her mind followed his words. "Masked guy? But the only masked guy I know is-"

A pebble flew out of the darkness, striking the girl upside the head. "**Ow!**" She screeched, whirling around to face the room. "What was that!?"

Gaku turned around, curious to the source of the sound and that's when the Yoshu student pounced.

Rearing back his fist, he rushed, punching to strike Gakushu's exposed throat.

Another pebble flew out, and this one struck the Yoshu student right between the eyes.

He flinched, staggering, and Gaku whirled on his attacker, grabbing him by the scruff of his clothes before bringing his head down in a brutal headbut that crushed the man's nose in a spurt of blood.

* * *

From her own hidden perch Ryofu felt her eyes narrow. It had been fast, almost too fast to see in the dark. She'd missed the first, but she saw the second one.

She hmmed.

Curious.

From what the girl had said, she knew him. The rock was glaringly obvious in its intent to hide his name.

Then he'd defended the other Nanyo student.

So it wasn't just Sonsaku he was protecting, but Nanyo students?

Or was he defending her by proxy? Keeping her from fighting?

The other curiosity was just who exactly he was working for. She doubted it was Nanyo. Otherwise they would have just brought him to the tournament. But she really knew of no one outside of Nanyo that would want to protect Sonsaku.

Wait...

Her eyes narrowed.

Toutaku?

Everyone knew their fate. Everyone at Rakuyo knew that, as the story went, _she_ was supposed to end up killing Toutaku. The spirit housed within her Magatama, granting her strength and power bound her to this destiny. Bound him and all of them to the doom that history had long since laid out before them.

She'd seen many fighters try to break free of the fate that bound them. She'd seen it time and time again, and either by their own design or just sheer happenstance the Fate of their spirit liege always found them before the end. In one way, or another.

Was he trying to have her killed instead?

Was he trying to break his fate by luring her here to fight this man?

She shook her head. Clearing the paranoia with cold logic. No. There wouldn't have been a point in sending him after Yoshu then. Weak lickspittles that they were, the money they made kept Rakuyo, in particular Toutaku himself, very well off. There was no reason to make this whole arrangement just to lure her off when he could have had this guy try to kill her in her sleep.

So no...this guy wasn't working for him.

Didn't mean that he wasn't hoping she'd die by going after him though. Maybe even hoping the masked guy would wound her enough to be killed by someone else. Someone _actually_ working for him.

She pulled her phone from her pocket, setting the thing to vibrate before she sent out her text message as Gakushu finished pummeling the Yoshu student into a bloody mess over the floor.

"Winner." The referee called over Hakufu's cheering.

Ryofu watched as Gakushu walked back, battered, a bit bruised but ultimately victorious.

"All right my turn now!" She said moving to step forward before the blue haired boy called out to her, moving to stop her before another voice rang out.

"No. He's mine."

Ryofu perked, it'd been a while since she heard that voice.

"Mou-chan!" Hakufu's scream of delight was nearly deafening.

* * *

From his hidden location Naruto winced at Hakufu's voice. It was a few decibels between loud and screeching. Rubbing his ear he turned his eyes back towards the entrance where a girl with short blue hair made her way closer, wearing an eye bandage of all things.

"Hmm. So that's the Ryomou Koukin had been hoping would show."

From what Koukin had said, Ryomou Shimei was one of the strongest students of Nanyo. Just behind some other guy called Saji. Another of the "Big four." She'd been gone for the last two weeks or so. Saji and some other guy even longer than that.

Koukin said he was worried. Naruto hadn't wanted to break the kids innocence or something, but the moment he said "Guy and Girl missing for nearly a week" Naruto's mind had drifted to...less dangerous avenues of activities they could be involved in.

_Well..._ He smirked. _Marginally less dangerous._

But looking at the girl now, he doubted that was the case. Unless she had the best warface ever, it didn't look like she was the type to...dally.

Just getting hugged by Hakufu looked like it was making her uncomfortable.

Either way this Saji guy wasn't with her either. And with him being a fighter and them still having a spot available since five from one school could compete...

Then that meant, to him, one of three things.

Either Saji was dead, and the girl had been missing while looking for him.

Either Saji was still missing, in which case he was about as useful as dead, and the girl had still gone missing looking for him.

Or Saji and this-

Hmm... He paused, blinking.

_'That looks...uncomfortable.'_

He'd done little more than blink as the fight started, lost in thought. Then the first punch was thrown and Ryomou was coiled around her opponent in one of the most painful looking locks he'd ever seen.

_I didn't even know people **could** bend like that._

A teeth rattling crunch and a scream of bloody murder as Ryomou broke both arms alerted him to the fact that he was right.

* * *

Ryofu smiled at the show.

Then, the phone vibrated in her hand, revealing the reply.

Pocketing the device she turned and left the parking garage through one of the many emergency exits.

* * *

Kanu opened up her phone, the little device chiming, indicating she had a text.

Chouhi looked up fro the third box of pocky sticks today. "What's up?"

"Nanyo defeated what was left of Yoshu." She answered, putting the phone back.

"Called it." Chouhi grinned, puffing up before she winced, the pain of her still sore shoulder deflating her enthusiasm like a needle would deflate a balloon.

Kanu nodded, sipping her tea as they waited for the text that would lead them to the designated fighting grounds.

* * *

"Mou-chan that was amazing!" Hakufu gushed as the four sat down in one of the benches on the sidewalk. "You've got to teach me how you did that!"

The blue haired girl said nothing, standing infront of Gakushu, who sat and drank a bottle of water.

"Ryomou." He said, interrupting Hakufu as he stared up at his fellow fighter. "Its good to see you." He ventured slowly. "I had thought though...that Saji would be with yo-"

"Saji's dead."

The silence between all four of them could have made a tomb seem lively before Gakushu stuttered out a strangled "What?" Through his suddenly uncooperative voice box.

Ryomou's features tightened, her lips curling back into a sneer as her fists clenched.

Hakufu's hand fell away from her mouth as Koukin shook himself free of his stupor. She hadn't known Saji, she'd only met the tall, sandy haired student once, but he seemed nice enough

Gakushu stood, his face ashen. "What? How? Saji is the best fighter of Nanyo, he wouldn't just-"

"He is I saw his body myself!" Ryomou interrupted, more fiercely this time. "And I know exactly who killed him."

Koukin gulped, he'd seen Ryomou, irritated, and annoyed before but she was very slow to anger. In fact, in all the years he'd seen her around school he'd never once seen her even remotely close to it.

Gakushu's phone chimed, picking it up, he read their next fighting grounds. "The abandoned office building on the East side's 27th. Six PM." He read aloud before snapping the phone shut.

Koukin knew one thing from the look in their eyes.

There would be retribution.

"Who did it then?" Gakushu all but snarled.

Her eye narrowed. "Ryofu Housen."

* * *

Naruto hadn't stayed long after that, the conversation going into the specifics of Ryomou's discovery. He would get the full story from Koukin later.

Leaving a clone, in case something did happen, though he doubted it intensely with Hakufu currently surrounded by three other, fairly skilled fighters, he made his way towards where Gakushu had mentioned.

Asking for several directions along the way though. This time under the guise of a Henge. With that Yoshu student calling him the "masked man." that meant word got out. And the key term of his objective here was 'secret.'

Maybe it was overly paranoid in a world without ninja but he was a professional; and Hakufu really was a sweet girl.

So he'd go over and sweep the place for traps and ambushes before they got there.

He doubted he'd really find anything but better to prevent than react.

* * *

"Mou-chan." Hakufu began, hesitating as Ryomou stopped in her pacing, tense like a taut bow.

They were waiting now. Koukin and Gakushu having gone to get some food to bring back. The food was in the opposite direction of where they needed to go, so they'd decided that four people walking twelve blocks to get there, and back track again would just be a waste.

"Yes Sonsaku-san?" Her voice was the same as usual, bland, almost bored really. But still the muscles of her shoulders were rigid, like the tendons were ready to snap.

"Mou-chan are you okay?"

"I'll be fine Sonsaku-san." The bluenette said, turning to look at the girl with the eye she left exposed. Looking at the girl that had joined their school only months ago. The Naieve, simpleton that was supposed to grow into the legendary Sho-Hao. The next incarnation of the little conqueror."

"But Saji-san was your friend."

"He was." She admitted. "But we all have our Fate. Saji's Magatama carried him to it."

"That doesn't make it ok!" Hakufu protested, vehemence bordering on anger. "Its not ok for people to just think its ok. You have to fight to change things! Otherwise what are we doing if not just..." She paused, seemingly searching for the word. "Going through the motions?"

Ryomou was ready to speak, to give voice to the same statements she'd been given before, when she learned of her own prophesied end.

But quick as a spark her words stuck in her throat at the look in Hakufu's eyes. Like a heated cauldron slowly bubbling up to full boil, something brewed behind that green gaze that, for a moment, made her almost believe the younger girl. Almost see her taking the chains that bound them all and ripping them to pieces before her eyes.

She averted her gaze. "It doesn't matter now...he's dead."

Hakufu moved to stand infront of her, her green eyes still fierce. "It will always matter Mou-chan. It matters because we are still here."

And for a few moments, Ryomou saw the simpleton girl bleed away once more, replaced by something else entirely.

* * *

When they said abandoned. He should have figured that what they really meant was that people had run screaming in fear of the goddamn dust monster that must have attacked this place.

Seriously...it was like...a wall of sheer allergic irritants punching him in the face with every door he opened.

Most of the floors were empty. A few papers here and there but mostly deserted. Some however did have some semblance of furniture, a chair here, a filing cabinet there.

Some floors had the windows painted, bathing them in pure blackness that the light of day couldn't pierce save for the faintest traces of a muted glow through the glass.

His own professionalism demanded that he be thorough, so he'd more or less perused through each floor since he wasn't entirely sure which floor they would be fighting on.

He figured the roof since it didn't have half the cities dust population on it, but still.

He was pushing open the door of the last floor just before the roof level when he was greeted by another punch to the face.

This one was a little fleshier than dust.

It hit a lot harder too.

He staggered back, his lower spine slamming into the rails of the stairwell as he rubbed his jaw. "_Well, that'll wake you up in the morning. _He thought. The punch had been fast, it'd hurt and hadn't even been given in a serious way. More like a backhanded slap than anything.

So either he was really a lot weaker than he thought he was, or this person was a lot stronger than he thought they could be.

Looking up, the blond found himself staring at a green haired woman.

"Ahh, so you're the famous _'Masked man.'_

"Who me?" He straightened himself out. "Nah You must be talking about my twin brother, let me go get him and you two can talk this ou-"

Her foot was faster than her fist.

This time though he was a bit more prepared.

He leaned away. Feeling his lower back against the rails again before he saw her smirk.

The foot came down, and with a pivot her other foot was coming right for his chest, seeking to knock him over so he would fall to his death.

The ninja fell back, using the railing as an axis he flipped once, grabbing onto the cold steel as her foot struck at nothing but air before bouncing back, over the railings.

She looked surprised for a moment when his fists started flying.

Then she was blocking and dodging them with dextrous skill.

He pushed her back into the room, the painted windows throwing them both into gloom.

He moved to pass the doorway, only to suddenly find the door swinging closed in his face.

He caught it, ducking beneath the kick she'd tried to get him with and feeling the wood snap and give way at his fingers, becoming splinters.

This girl was _strong_. He circled around, slipping into the black, only to find her foot once more moving to his face.

He leaned to the side, the heel of her shoe coming into firm contact with the wall behind him before he grabbed at her ankle, stopping her from moving as he held it to his collarbone.. "You meet all your friends like this?" He asked. "How bout we talk first eh? Oh I know, lets play twenty questions. Can I start. Who are you? Who sent you? and Why are you here? We'll do it three by three eh?"

She jumped, lifting her other foot to strike and Naruto rolled to the side, her dainty black shoes ripping a whole chunk off the wall.

"How's about you tell me first?" She yelled, and Naruto's forearms were dealt a series of punishing kicks as he moved to block the fluid, rapid series of impacts.

His foot struck at an old paint can, making him stumble, and in a second he felt three very painful strikes against his ribs, face and the back of his knee, making him fall onto it as he rubbed his jaw again.

_Think she hit the same spot twice now._

The green haired girl stood over him, not even bothering to hold her fighting stance. Her confidence was well earned really. Even if he was just a 'gennin' now, for a non ninja to hit one was pretty damn impressive. He could only guess the monster she'd be if she really got some training.

"If you do." She said. "I promise to snap your neck and not break every bone."

He chuckled, forcing a bit more chakra through his whole body for a quick speed boost. "That's not how you're supposed to play!" He lashed out, an explosion of motion that surprised her.

Grabbing her by the shirt before focusing more chakra to his shoulders, back and arms. He lifted her with brutal speed, Ryofu suddenly found herself flying across the room to crash into a left over office desk, the cheap, rotten wood giving way beneath her to crumble to a mess of pulpy wood.

She picked herself up, cursing and snarling.

Before she realized she was standing in an empty room.

* * *

"There they are."

Gakushu's voice snapped Koukin's gaze up from the sidewalk, bringing his eyes to stare straight across from them towards where two women made their way closer.

The first girl was shorter than the other, maybe an inch or two shorter than Hakufu, with short brown hair that reached just passed her ears. He noticed her left arm was in a loose sling.

_'Must have been from the earlier fight with Nanban.' _He concluded. _Maybe that'll give us an advantage'_

The second woman though, was unmistakeable. As tall as Ganjuu, slender with the signature lustrous long hair that reached all the way down to her ankles gave way her identity instantly.

Kanu Unchou.

The dragon crescent blade was held loosely in her grasp, its edge tucked away in a black cloth shroud.

He wondered if she was going to use it...

He sincerely hoped not. Just her reputation alone was enough to make the youth sweat.

Taishiji was strong, one of the top five fighters in the whole region.

And he had little doubt Kanu could beat him hands down.

If she pulled out a weapon...

"Ohhh" Hakufu's voice was filled with something akin to awe. "So those are the fighters from Seito huh?"

"Yes." Ryomou answered, tightening her gloves as the referee began making his way closer, to stand between the fighters. Koukin noticed instantly that something was wrong. Ryomou was nervous...incredibly nervous.

* * *

"So that's Nanyo's bunch eh? They don't look so tough."

"Don't underestimate them. That's the same thing you said on the train."

She flushed. "Shut up!" She barked.

* * *

"Hmm...Hiding are we?" She said into the darkened room.

Naruto stepped back, letting himself slip a little further into shadow. He shifted his feet, maneuvering himself to the right spot.

He saw the green haired girl close her eyes, a look of mild concentration going across her features.

He expected her to try to rely on her sense of hearing to detect him, expected her to ease herself into a stance that would effectively prepare her for an attack from any direction.

What he didn't expect was for the girl to let out a sweeping pulse of chakra that blanketed the room like a rudimentary echolocation.

His eyes shot wide open. Any gennin could have done that technique back in the day. And any gennin could have just as easily avoided detection.

People tended to do it as second nature knowing they were fighting other ninja.

He hadn't actually thought he'd fight anyone with anything remotely resembling his abilities though.

So, her chakra swept over him, like water on rock and just as subtle.

"Got you!"

She was on him in a second, his lack of preparedness allowing him to block, but also allowing him to be knocked to the ground by the sheer force of her kick.

He fell, crushing two boxes underneath him and spilling their contents over the darkened floor. The musk of dust made his throat itch.

He rolled to the side as her foot stomped down in a brutal drop kick, his own feet lashing out to sweep hers out from under her, only to watch her jump to avoid the blow.

He kept moving, making himself spin in place with the momentum as he rolled over his shoulders, lashing out with a boot that caught the young woman right between her breasts, sending her falling flat on her back a ways down the hall of the room.

Ryofu stood, quick as lightning, taking her stance again, only to find that the blond once more vanished.

"This again?" She taunted. "You really don't learn do you?"

She sent out another pulse, and felt her smirk drop when she sensed nothing.

"That was impressive." He called, slipping through the empty boxes, stacked chairs and empty shelves with the stealth his profession demanded. Throwing his voice, he continued. "Really. You have to tell me who taught you how to do it. Now that I know you can do it though. Don't expect me to fall for it again."

* * *

The referee eyed both groups, watching as they squared off. He cleared his throat to speak loud enough for both of them to hear. "The tournament grounds are at the top of this building. If you would follow-"

A rain of glass suddenly interrupted him as everyone shot their eyes to the sky above.

* * *

Ryofu knew one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt as she shifted her stance in this dark place.

This guy was _fucking _annoying.

"So like I was saying I was just trying to enjoy the peace and quiet when Inuyasha just strolls along as you please-"

His plan was apparently to talk her to death.

Slowly...very slowly. With a detailed diatribe of his whole life.

"Would you shut up already!" She shouted, gnashing her teeth.

"Oh? Are you ready to continue our previous conversation now? That's good. I was starting to run out of funny stories."

She dropped her stance. Rubbing at her temples to stave off the headache. "What conversation?"

"Oh you know. The old 'Why are you here, Who are you, Who sent you' and so on and so forth. If we could get back to that, I'd be very happy."

She smirked. Annoying or not, he was at least interesting. "That usually comes after you've roughed me up and have me pinned against the ground underneath you" She said, smirking into the gloom as she deliberately crossed her arms under her breasts. "Don't you want to go through that for theatrics sake?"

"Oh, are we getting into the sexual tension banter now?"

She could almost feel his eyes roaming over her body. "Tempting." He called from somewhere else. "But I've been flirted with by professional she-devils. You'll have to try a little harder than that."

The green haired girl shook her head. This was getting her nowhere, and this guy was proving a hell of a lot better at hiding than she gave him credit for.

Finding him and wringing the information Toutaku wanted out of him had gone from "A suspicious assignment" to "interesting" to just plain old "fucking irritating."

Besides that. Toutaku could go eat a dick for all she cared. If the little masochist woke up with a knife in his throat from this guy and whoever was employing him she was hardly going to cry over it.

She turned, stalking away. "You know what? I'm done. Guess none of us gets what we want today huh?"

She almost smirked.

Then she saw movement to her right.

"Ohhh I don't think so."

He rushed her, she took a stance, only to feel his shoulder drive itself into her stomach.

Her natural awareness, allowed her to recall, just a second earlier, that there was a paint covered window behind her, and that they were on the eleventh story of this building before she felt the fragile barrier give way at her back and the rush of wind as they began plummeting to their death.

* * *

Koukin's eyes shot open in open mouthed shock.

It was a moment of consensus between everyone, Seito, Nanyo, even the referee, each student allowing themselves a moment to meet eachothers gaze before they rushed into the building, all but sprinting up the stairs, swallowing them three steps at a time.

* * *

Ryofu didn't think she ever screamed from fear so loudly in her entire life.

She wasn't sure if she'd ever screamed in fear period.

But when one finds oneself falling from twelve stories, only to then be dangling by the front of their shirt by a man who was defying every law of gravity and physics by imitating _'Spiderman'_ one does manage to discover the untapped power of one's own lungs.

She felt her breathing increase, adrenalin shooting through her whole body as she gripped the arm holding her for all she was worth, feet dangling above solid concrete nearly a hundred feet down.

Looking up to the masked blond, she found him smiling. "Not exactly roughing you up and pinning you to the ground beneath me. But-" He made a show of looking down. "I think I can make a safe bet that I'll be getting what I want today."

* * *

"This building was supposed to be empty!" Kanu yelled, down at the referee, running up the stairs right behind Chouhi and the dusky haired girl from Nanyo.

"It is!" The man cried rushing behind Gakushu, who was behind her. "No one should be here."

Koukin kept his mouth firmly shut as his legs started to burn with the twelve story sprint.

When he'd looked, he'd seen little more than a spec in the distance, wriggling and moving to give the outline of a person.

He'd heard the scream though.

But regardless, he hadn't seen anything.

So why did he have the strongest feeling that this was somehow a certain blonds fault?

* * *

"Sooo." The masked blond drawled, smiling down at Ryofu, who's gaze was somewhere between furious and terrified. "Lets start out with the basics yes? Who are you?"

"Ryofu Housen"

"Good. Now that wasn't so bad right? I'll even join. My name is N." He bowed his head. "At your service."

"Great..." She spat out. "Mind putting me back inside now?"

"Oh, soon. I promise, really." He smiled. "Anyway, how'd you know to come here? I thought the tournament grounds were only given out to the schools participating. You're definitely not supposed to be here. So how'd you find out?"

"How did you?"

"Ah, ah ah." He relaxed his grip on her clothes, feeling her hands dig into his wrist all the more harshly as she sucked in a breath. "That's not how the game's played remember?"

She spat out a curse, glaring at him in a way that would make sure he was dead if looks could kill. "You think he doesn't have his own people inside the so called 'neutral' schools?"

"Ahh." Naruto voiced with a roll of his eyes. "I see...still, just for the sake of formality at this point, who sent you?"

"Toutaku."

"Like I said, formality. Anyway. Why?"

"Because of you."

He blinked. "Oh? Me is it? Not Sonsaku?

"You think that no one would kick up a fuss by you wiping out Yoshu in one night? He still plans to deal with the girl soon but you're more pressing than a dimwit. You're an unknown. He hates unknowns."

"Oh I'm sure we'll get along splendidly after we share a cup of coffee."

"Great. I'll set it up. You two can gouge eachother's eyes out with those little red straws while discussing how many sugars you'll be having."

Naruto smiled beneath his mask. Now there was something he could latch onto. "You don't sound like you'd be very broken up about it."

She cursed, noticing her own slip.

"So you hate the man you're working for eh?" He asked rhetorically. And then with a casual air, uncoiled one hand from her clothes, making her heart lurch with all too real terror as she shouted, gripping the other arm as tight as she could while he tapped his masked chin with his forefinger. "Hmmm. You know. You remind me of someone I once knew. Her name was Kagura. She worked for a real piece of work. Major asshole."

"You dangle her over the side of a building too?"

He shrugged. "No." He answered, making her look right at him, a promise in those blue orbs even as he smiled his most benign grin. "I just killed the asshole."

Before she could say anything, the sound of shouting and footsteps were reaching their ears.

Then there was someone at the window and Ryofu was just relieved that this insanity was coming to an end.

"Hey hold on we'll-huh." Chouhi yelled, stopping herself as she saw the jaw dropping sight of a man standing off the side of a building eleven stories above the ground, along with someone else.

Then she saw his face.

"You!" She shouted, anger and rage coming to the forefront.

Naruto turned, looking at her with a wide smile thrown over his shoulder. "Me!"

Then he saw her face. Recognized that look of slow roiling fury. "You masked freak!"

He blinked. "Oh...well shit."

Then Kanu was at the window, her own features growing taut with recognition.

Naruto chuckled half nervously. "Well...looks like next stop, ground floor!"

Ryofu barely managed to yelp out a startled 'What!' before the two were in a stomach churning free fall.

* * *

The fury evaporated from Chouhi's features in an instant, replaced by immediate horror. The girl all but threw herself after the two descending people before she was yanked back into the window by Kanu. "Don't!"

* * *

The wind rushed past her face, her own hair was lashing her nose and eyes as it whipped this way and that way.

She felt his arm go around her waist.

"Hang on!" She heard his voice in her ear. And even though all she really wanted to do was beat this man to a bloody pulp she coiled her arms around his neck, crushing him to her as her heart pounded beneath her ribs with a palpable fear.

He flipped, turning mid fall, his feet slammed against the surface of the wall and affixed themselves there like it was the floor.

She could feel bits and pieces concrete and rock cutting into her legs, her arms never letting up their grip even as she could see them slowing down.

They were near the ground, possibly around the second floor when he finally jumped off.

A back flip, and the vertigo of falling, and his legs slammed into the pavement like shock absorbers.

Ryofu felt her legs shaking, the sure fear of death nearly overwhelming her before she pulled away.

Then she punched him across the face so hard she fell to the floor beside him.

He groaned rolling away as she panted, struggling to compose herself. "Same spot." She heard him say, barely paying it any mind. "Three times the same exact _spot_."

She lurched to her feet, wobbling on shaky knees. As she found him picking himself up and dusting himself off. Though his legs also seemed a little shaky.

"I'll fucking kill you." She hissed, her spit nearly escaping her as she hissed.

He backed away hands held forward in a warding motion. "Lets not and say we did huh? Anyway...I need to go before more crazy people show up. But this has been a really great conversation. We should do it again some time." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a paper with some scrawled doodles on it. "My card. As you people say." He placed it on the floor, still backing away as she stumbled forward, now on steadier legs. "If you ever need some furniture moved, a door kicked down or someone thrown off a very high building-" She growled. "Just rip it in half and I'll be there real quick eh?"

Before she could say anything more, or better yet wring his neck he vanished in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

"**Holy shit they're still moving!" **Chouhi roared, her bellowing shout echoing through the empty halls as Gakushu and Koukin shattered the other windows to look through them

Hakufu peeked down, looking to the two ants far below where they stumbled and wobbled on their feet for a second before they both fell.

The referee cleared his throat, and Hakufu heard him speak into his cellphone.

"Yes. Tournament ground five has been compromised...I understand." With a snap of a closing phone and a firm 'ahem' the lot of them brought their eyes around to look at him.

"As of this moment the fight between Seito private school and Nanyo academy is canceled."

"What!" She and Chouhi roared, at their mutual dismay/displeasure.

"It will be rescheduled for tomorrow evening at a new location that shall be disclosed to you via private message. You are expected to have the same fighters that are present today."

And with that, and a crisp bow. The man turned and made a good show of walking out the door before they heard his footsteps rushing down the stairs. Apparently wanting to see the two miracle survivors or whatever parts of them were glued to the sidewalk at the moment.

Koukin tried to make himself very very very small. And kept very very quiet.

A fact that was not lost on someone.

* * *

Ok, a pretty long chapter here.

Now, some words for whomsoever _does_ know about Ikki Tousen. This story while it will to an extent follow events of Ikki Tousen- it will do so in a general sense. Do not expect a word for word re-enactment of the series with the same characters doing the same things. A lot of things will change, alot of things will stay the same.

So rest assured that I'm aware of the "inconsistencies" if you can call it that a lot of these things are necesary and will set up events to change later and to develop, both from my interpretation of events and the original plot.

At any rate I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Ryofu stared at the paper.

She felt like a complete idiot.

But here she was still staring at it.

The moonlight filtered in through her windows, her sheets clung to her legs and pooled around her waist as she sat up, still staring at this bloody thing.

Just the memory of that man was enough to infuriate her all over again. Half of her wanted to rip the paper to see if he would come so she could beat him to within an inch of his miserable life.

Another part of her wanted to rip the damn thing and draw him into a trap. Get Toutaku off her back. She doubted that it would work really, even if the blasted thing _did_ work which still seemed rather far fetched in and of itself there was no guarantee he would just..._show up_ or waltz right into any trap she could set like a blithering idiot.

And then with such thoughts yet another part of her recalled that she was sitting on her bed staring at a piece of paper with freaking doodles on it...

She felt like an idiot.

The only thing that kept her from tossing the thing away outright was the fact that she was not crazy, she was not on acid, and she had a fairly good memory.

That masked idiot had been standing on a wall.

Just that piece of information alone was enough to at least merit the benefit of the doubt. Let alone the fact that he'd somehow survived, and kept her alive after falling over a hundred feet.

There was a groan beside her, a sound that brought an easy smile to her lips as she turned to look at Chinkyu's bleary eyes staring up at her. "Hey you."

"Ryofu? What's wrong?" Her voice was scratchy with sleep, a croak clawing out of her voicebox.

"Nothing's wrong." She set the paper aside, laying herself down she probably wouldn't be getting much sleep with her thoughts going a mile a minute, but there was no reason to make Chinkyu worry. She wrapped her arms around her waist, bringing short haired girl closer burying her nose in that reddish hair. "Nothing's wrong. Lets get some sleep."

* * *

Naruto was fairly certain Koukin would have an ulcer somewhere along the line. The boy was so high strung. So worried about everything. Truly, his client's longevity was in danger really.

Like right now, the boy was carving a trench through the floor with his pacing as Naruto mixed his coffee.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He despaired. "Why were you hanging outside of a building?

Naruto opened his mouth, but could barely get a word in edgewise before the boy continued.

"Why were you holding a girl hostage?"

Naruto raised his finger to indicate his intent to speak.

"Why did you fall!?"

He took a breath.

"How did you survive!"

His vocal chords just started to articulate sound.

"And who the hell was that girl that you were holding anyway!?

At this point the blond didn't even bother.

"And how the hell did Unchou-san and Ekitoku-san even recognize you!"

Then Koukin looked at him expectantly, almost accusingly.

Naruto blinked.

"Well!?"

Naruto started, as though waking up. "Oh, sorry. Is it my turn now?"

Judging by the look on his face, Koukin, could in-fact, experience anger.

"Well to start, I was hanging outside of a building because it seemed like the quickest way to get information. I was holding the girl hostage because, again, it seemed like the quickest way to get information. I fell because it was the quickest way to get to the ground floor and escape those other two girls. I survived because I'm just that awesome. The girl I was holding hostage is named Ryofu Housen-" That name got Koukin to gape like a fish. "The other two girls know me from just a few days before I met you. Its a little complicated but they just know my face, not my name or anything, same for me regarding them really."

"Ryofu Housen? Toutaku sent her?"

"Well to be fair." Naruto piped. "It didn't seem like she was there for Haku-chan, it seemed like she was there for me instead. Eliminating Yoshu put my notoriety pretty high all things considered. Given the fact that it happened right after they threatened Hakufu-she assumed, correctly, that I'd be close to Hakufu while this tournament is going on."

"So they're not after Hakufu anymore?" Koukin leaned on the table, eyes wide with relieved excitement.

"To use her exact words." Naruto said. "'He'll deal with the girl soon enough, but you're much more important than a dimwit' So I apparently take priority."

Koukin sighed, a relieved slump of his shoulders. "Oh thank god." Then realizing what he said he looked up at Naruto's amused features. "I er...I mean"

"Don't worry kid, I get it. Besides I agree. Let them come at me. I can take it."

The two heard the thumping of excited footsteps on the hardwood floor turning to the kitchen entrance as Hakufu came bounding in, smiling as wide as can be. Bringing a smile to Naruto's own face.

This girl was boundless energy, always smiling, always brimming with excitement. It was invigorating really, infectious.

"Koukin! We're fighting today!"

Bouncing into the kitchen with a spring in her step she kissed her cousin good morning and immediately went to the fridge; picking out an orange. "Naru-chan, you'll come with us today right?"

He went to answer when she spoke up again. "Pleeeeaaaase!" She pouted. "You didn't come yesterday!"

He smiled. "I'll tell you what. I'll finish up some stuff earlier in the city and then I'll go to watch you kick ass!"

She smiled, pleased by the admission, oblivious to how he would have to break that promise...at least as far as she was concerned.

Minutes later, as the three set out from Koukin's home, they opened the door and froze, all three finding themselves staring at the unmistakeable face of one Kanu Unchou.

"Well..." Naruto drawled after a moment's shocked silence. "Shit."

* * *

The greenhouse was as heady as ever, the heat of the day and the musk of the flowers and plants making the air feel heavy and thick in her nostrils.

She maneuvered her way through the hanging plants and greenery, hearing the familiar snips of gardening scissors.

She sucks in a deep breath, bracing herself for this encounter. Toutaku always made her skin crawl, and she doubted that would change today.

She steps around the corner, watching the Butcher of Rakuyo snipping at some flower or other, cradling it delicately with hands that could just as easily rip out a throat.

"Ahh Ryofu-san." He greeted, turning to her and smiling. It would be almost charming to someone who didn't know him. But she could see that glimmer of malevolence behind that benign appearance. "So glad you've dropped by. I heard your evening the other day was quite interesting to say the least."

"I found your masked blond."

"So I heard." He sounded approving, but that really meant very little. "Care to tell me anything about him?"

"He talks." She said instantly. "A lot."

"What about."

"Some friends of his. He compared me to one. Said her name was Kagura or something, spoke about some other guy named Inuyasha, a girl named Kagome. Those names mean anything to you?"

"Not particularly no." The youth said, snipping carefully at some more stray leaves. "Did he say anything else?"

"He's not working for Nanyo. Though he is protecting Hakufu." She smiled. "And he's expressed an inkling to kill you."

"Did he now?"

Toutaku's voice was as though he'd just heard the most delightful surprise, not taking his eyes off his work. "You'd like that wouldn't you."

Her guard immediately came up, an apprehension settling in the pit of her stomach.

Toutaku never spoke so openly about this. It was almost an unwritten rule between the both of them. Their destinies were intertwined, coiling and winding down a path that would lead the both of them to ruin. By all accounts unchangeable.

So they ignored it even as they both railed against it.

He wouldn't bring this up. He wouldn't unless...

"Do you know this flower?" He asked, smirking as he swiveled his eyes to look at her out of his periphery. "Its called the Shinku."

She tensed.

"Such a delicate thing; really. Only grows in tropics. Needs constant protection from the elements. So many bad things could happen to it if you just...look away for too long."

"You leave Chinkyu out of this!" She hissed.

"Chinkyu?" He questioned, so genuinely curious anyone would have believed him. "I was just discussing this flower. What on earth would make you think we were discussing sweet '_delicate_' little Chinkyu?"

He straightened, wiping his hands as he smiled at her.

"At any rate Ryofu, even though I am curious as to how he got away from you of all people; you really do need to eliminate this masked man soon. I'd help you myself but I must stay here and tend to my flowers..." He smirked. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to them. If I were to go off and take too long...a few of them might very well die."

* * *

Kanu stood, grasping her weapon, a long polearm, the blade sheathed in a black silk bag as she came closer, her eyes as sharp as flint knives as she glared at them all.

"Ka-Kanu-san." Koukin was pale, his whole body freezing up like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Hey!" Hakufu waved, smiling, oblivious to her cousins tension. "We're not supposed to start fighting until later Kanu-chan."

She finished walking up to them; her face tight, her grip on the naginata tense.

Finally, Hakufu seemed to understand something was wrong, looking at her cousin. "Ummm...what's going on?"

"You might want to start by explaining-him."

She points at Naruto with her weapon, the blond holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Huh? Naru-chan?" Hakufu wondered. "He's just Koukin's friend."

And like that the blue haired teenager found himself square in the sights of one of the most dangerous fighters around.

"I uhh...well...that is I..."

Taking pity on the kid, Naruto sighed, loudly, bringing everyone's attention back to him. "Well miss-"

"Be quiet." She cut him off. "You're a thief, your word is worth less than garbage to me."

Naruto winced. That was harsh really and even though he didn't know her, the words stung. He valued his word, any promise he made he always kept. To hear it was worth nothing, even if from a total stranger brought him down a lot more than it probably should have.

It was Hakufu who jumped to his defense. "Hey you take that back!" She shouted, all levity gone from her face as she glared at Kanu, the ferocity in her voice was surprising to each of them. "I don't know what happened but Naruto is really nice! There's no reason you should talk about him that way!"

"Look everyone just calm down!" That was Koukin, finding his courage as Kanu turned her fierce glare onto Hakufu. The boy really was protective of her. "Kanu-san. I know this all must look...incredibly strange but I...umm."

"Tell me why you sent him to attack Ryuubi-sama."

"I-what!?"

Koukin snapped his head over to Naruto "You did what!"

"Hey I didn't attack anybody!"

"What the hell did you do!?"

"He tried to take the contents of Ryuubi-sama's purse!"

"You're making that sound a lot worse than what it really was."

"How exactly is it 'good'"

"I certainly didn't attack anyone in the process! At least until I ran away!"

"What the hell is wrong with you"

"I'm telling you I-"

"_**Shut up!"**_

Once more, it was Hakufu's surprising voice that stopped them all from shouting over eachother.

Looking to each of them Hakufu crossed her arms, now she was the one glaring. "Lets all just talk about this inside."

* * *

Minutes later Koukin could be found with his eyes downcast, taking a rather unhealthy interest on the surface of the kitchen table.

"You hired Naru-chan!" She all but shouted out the words, her cheeks puffing out in indignant anger. "I can take care of myself!"

"You can." Naruto piped up from his place by the wall, unwilling to let the boy take the full brunt of this. "But, come on. He's your cousin and he just wants to make sure you're safe. Is that really so bad?"

"Well...no but-"

"And it got me off the streets." He added, smiling. "Keeping nice people like me from needing to steal from pretty girls like Ribi."

"Ryuubi!" Kanu snapped.

"Right, her."

Kanu's features scrunched up with displeasure, deciding to let the issue go. "So. You're genuinely saying that a fighter, one as strong as you was living on the streets?"

"I'm not a fighter." Naruto answered. "Not in the way you mean it anyway. And yes, I was, lets just say things have been...complicated...these last few months."

"And you had nothing to do with Taishiji?"

"That was all Yoshu's own doing. I did beat most of them into the hospital however. I'll admit to that."

"And yesterday. That was you-"

"Protecting Hakufu from Toutaku's agents." Naruto finished. "Actually, it was more an interrogation. People tend to talk more when their feet are several hundred yards above ground level."

Hakufu's face scrunched up, at his word at protecting her, her cheeks puffed out.

She was a sweet girl, she wouldn't stay mad for very long, even if she did have the attention span to actively hold a grudge. It wasn't like Koukin had done much but wound her ego just a bit.

The one that he was somewhat worried about however was Kanu. "So." He said addressing her even as she glared at him with one of the most disdainful looks he'd ever seen on someone's face. "Can we trust you to keep this secret? Anonymity as to who exactly is interested in keeping Hakufu safe definitely has its benefits.

Kanu stood up from her chair, the wooden legs scraping on the hardwood floors. "Toutaku is on edge, not knowing who you're affiliated with. So I will keep your secret. However-" She warned. "Come anywhere near Ryuubi-sama again and I'll-

Three phones ring, interrupting them. She didn't really have to finish, Naruto could grasp her meaning well enough. Stay away from that Ryuubi girl and everything would be copacetic.

They flipped their phones open. "Dock thirteen." Koukin announced.

* * *

She was staring at this stupid paper again.

She felt Chinkyu's arms wrap themselves around her neck, her lovers slim hands coiling themselves tightly as Ryofu breathed the scent of cinnamon and lilacs.

"You didn't come to class today."

"Fuck the class." She answered, leaning back. "I already know everything there anyway."

"No. I know everything there. And I'm the one that always helps you learn it for the tests"

"Same difference."

She received a lighthearted punch to the shoulder for her humor.

She smiled, but it quickly died, her mood becoming somber.

"Chinkyu."

"Hmmm."

She thought about saying something, warning her, telling her. But Chinkyu was scared enough of Toutaku as it was. Her parents lived in Europe. Her home and her friends were here in this boarding school, she had nowhere else to go.

No one but her.

So she would have to keep her safe.

She kissed at her wrists, "Nothing..."

* * *

Dock thirteen didn't have a single building more than two stories high in sight.

Which was quite an accomplishment considering they were so close to downtown.

Perhaps the two or three cranes lining the pier counted but then again maybe not considering no one could really get up there through any normal means.

Koukin, Hakufu and Kanu had all arrived at the same time, with Naruto wandering off to sneak as he'd confessed. Telling Hakufu to kick ass because he'd be watching, which brought a smile to her face.

They'd received curious looks, to say the least, from Gakushu and Ryomou, they hadn't really asked though unlike Chouhi who loudly announced "What gives Unchou?" Which was quickly waved aside with a simple "later" from Kanu.

The referee watched them all his eyes coldly surveying them for a few moments before he cleared his throat. "This will be the match to decide the contestant of the semi-finals. Nanyo academy, vs Seito private school. Seito has devoted two fighters to the matches. Nanyo has devoted four. The contest is decided when the schools respective fighters are no longer able to compete. The first round starts now, would the first two contestants step forward.

Gaku slapped his hand on Koukin's back as Chouhi stepped up, grinning and cracking her knuckles. "Go on Shuyu."

"What?" Koukin sputtered. "Me? I'm first?"

Gaku nodded. "You have to be. Ryomou and I are the strongest of us, we can't afford to waste our strength fighting Chouhi when Kanu is waiting in the wings. It'll be up to you and Sonsaku to beat Chouhi, better even if its just you, that way we have three people to fight Kanu with."

Koukin looked at Ryomou, easily the strongest of the four of them. "Is Kanu really that strong?"

The blue haired girl nodded, her face grim. "Even with three people, if we're not careful, she'll beat us all."

Only Hakufu seemed delighted by that prospect. "Oh wow this is so exciting. Kanu-chan must be brutal!"

Again Gaku slapped Koukin in the back, pushing him forward. "Go."

When the boy stepped forward, he looked every bit as nervous as he felt. Hakufu's cheering, while a nice gesture was not exactly encouraging.

"Come on Koukin! Beat her up!"

* * *

Finding a comfortable perch within a nearby warehouse where he could watch the fight, Naruto settled himself down for what he hoped would be a good show.

He just didn't know how active the audience, namely him would have to become in the near future.

* * *

Kagome returned to full consciousness with a groan., her eyes slowly prying themselves open.

The groan quickly turned into a sob of frustration as she saw herself back beneath the black roof of a cave.

Always.

It never failed.

She would flee. She was _allowed _to flee.

The first time she'd waited for the demoness to sleep, it had taken _days_ but it had finally happened.

She got up and carefully left, extracting herself from the cave and then running for all she was worth.

Then when she woke up, she was back here.

She'd run four more times since.

And it was always the same. She always fell asleep, exhausted and she would wake right here again and again.

Yesterday she'd left...with the devil fox grinning from ear to ear as she bolted out of the cave. She'd run for almost the entire day. Leaving at some time after noon, until the sun dipped beneath the horizon and the moon had replaced it, only for the sun to rise again.

She'd fallen asleep when the brightness of morning was giving way to the heat of mid day beneath some tree.

She must have run for miles, even running through a river to mask her scent.

Her clothes were still cold and moist, her feet ached and scratches covered her arms and shins.

She sat up, finding Kyuubi's radiant smile staring back at her.

"I'm impressed." The fire haired demoness said. "You almost managed to get half way to a road this time."

"Go to hell!" An anger she hadn't felt since Naraku's demise bubbled up her throat from the pit of her stomach.

"I will once the current resident is done renting it." And with her smile, Kagome wasn't sure just how much of that was actually a joke.

The demon shifted in place, allowing the light of the fire to catch the edge of a familiar blade.

Kagome felt her stomach drop, a fear rushing through her whole body like the gust of a blizzard sapping her of her courage as the age old monster in the guise of a woman continued to smile.

"But before I do-" It...because that's all Kagome could call something that could smile as maliciously as that, spoke its words in a near hiss, every syllable branding itself across the Miko's flesh as her power flared. A red mist slithered over the floor of the cavern now.

Kagome stood, backing away calling her purifying powers to try and form some kind of barrier as she struggled to fight down the panic rising in her chest.

Her back collided with something that shouldn't have been there, she whirled, her hand bathed in pearl, pink light, only to feel her wrist caught in a grip that felt like fire across her skin. She struggled, tugging at her arm as she saw the hand holding her burn away, the skin becoming charred and black before her eyes, but still the hold was unbreakable.

The Kyuubi pulled her close, until they were flush against eachother, the taller creature leaning over her as she brought that sword close to her face until the tip was touching at her cheek.

Those red eyes glowed like blood soaked rubies. "-there's just one thing I'll need from you."

And Kagome felt the edge of Naruto's red blade cut open her flesh.


	7. Chapter 7

The shoe covered foot that presented itself to Koukin's cheek was a lot harder than its simple shape implied.

Naruto could almost feel his teeth ache with sympathetic pain. This Chouhi girl certainly didn't pull her punches.

To the boy's credit though, he rolled with the hit, spinning with the impact to deliver an awkward spin kick, his heel connecting with Chouhi's hip, making her stumble awkwardly to keep herself standing.

The girl growled, nostrils flaring in her aggression as she rushed Shuyu.

The shinobi absently noted that the two were very nearly polar opposites. She was all power, but sloppy technique, and Koukin was perfect technique, but too little power, or at least confidence, to really make it count.

The girl's foot rose in a near perfect high spin kick one more time, striking both of Koukin's arms as his employer scrambled to block it. He succeeded...such as it was, his arms certainly intercepted the blow but it was his own wrists that hit him across the face.

He reeled, backing up as Chouhi lunged with a straight punch.

Quick enough, he grabbed onto her wrist, his foot sliding out to tangle her own before grabbing onto the front of her shirt and throwing her.

_Nice._

The girl hit the ground hard but rolled right back up to her feet, growling and attacking, catching Koukin off guard with the speed of her recovery.

If anyone was expecting something fancy, they clearly didn't know Ekitoku Chouhi very well.

She tackled him.

A full charge, shoulder to chest, hands lifting legs tackle.

Koukin hit the ground with the breath knocked out of him, only to see, and feel a fist coming down on his cheek with the meaty sound of flesh striking flesh.

His hands came up, blocking her repeated blows, as the girl from Seito cut loose, somewhere he vaguely heard Hakufu's voice yelling out something or other.

He lashed out when he saw his chance, grabbing onto her wrist and redirecting her right fist to land to the right of his head, one hand clutched at her wrist, holding it there while the other reached up, grasping at the left side of her neck before using the newfound leverage to roll her right off him.

He scrambled to his feet, twisting her arm as he did, only for her to roll on the ground with the motion before making him lose his grip completely.

She sprang to her feet, once again taking the offensive with blinding speed.

The exchange was almost poetic to Naruto really. After so long of fighting with techniques and abilities that could level entire city blocks, simply seeing a straight up, no holds barred _fight_ was a novelty he almost felt truly tempted to join.

It seemed for a moment Koukin had the advantage_, _having been able to get the abrasive girl into a hold. Then, Chouhi threw her head back. The rear of her skull striking the boys with a bony_ crack_. It was a _hard _hit. And even though Koukin was the only one that cried out, Chouhi didn't exactly look too steady on her feet after he let her go.

She spun on her heel, leg rising up to very nearly take off the top of Koukin's head as the boy ducked, stumbling forward before pushing her right onto her ass, unable to hold her balance on one leg.

Her legs tangled his up once more, tripping him enough to get him to fall on his knees before she coiled onto him like some snake, her arm wrapping around his neck and tightening.

He tried to use her own tactic against her, headbutting, but she had anticipated such, placing her hand to cradle the back of his head and hold him still.

Koukin strained against the hold as Chouhi pulled him back, the arm coiled around his neck like a vice. Hakufu and Gakushu were shouting.

_'Don't let her pull you back Koukin!'_

_'Shuyu, get up! Stand up, she's small you can lift her! Stand up!'_

He wondered, amidst the blood rushing through her ears, and his own pounding headache why in the hell he'd ever decided to go through with this. Gakushu should be fighting this girl. At least Kanu would be a quick loss.

He pulled himself forward, his cheeks were flushed red, his lungs beginning to hurt from lack of air before he slowly began to pull himself up onto his feet, Ekitoku still clinging to his back like a koala bear from hell to a bamboo tree.

Then, he was finally on his feet, wondering as he started to get light headed what exactly he was supposed to do.

It hits him as he feels her fingers tighten around his hair.

His hands reach up, both grabbing her own, holding her in place.

Then, he flips forward.

Chouhi's head comes down on the pavement with a sick _crack _of bone against concrete, her arms and legs suddenly going limp.

Shuyu rolls off of her, coughing and sputtering, some spittle leaking from his lips as his lungs fill with air.

The referee marches over, and Koukin is half terrified he's killed her when the man reaches down to check for a pulse.

The man stands, and Koukin feels his heart nearly drop into a pit.

She was supposed to land on her back...not her skull.

"Koukin Shuyu wins by Knock out! The victory goes to Nanyo!"

Knock out.

The relief he feels is almost enough to knock _him_ out in and of itself.

Hakufu cheers, he hears her footsteps coming closer along with the others.

* * *

They were walking.

None of them liked it.

But what choice did they have?

They could run. But by now even Inuyasha realized that all the hurrying in the world was not going to get them anywhere faster.

The whole of Japan was their search-ground, and they were only a handful.

So they walked.

They walked when they wanted to run.

They walked even though in the back of all their minds they knew they were doing nothing, that insidious little voice whispered that the Kitsune would only _let_ them find Kagome when she _wanted_ to be found.

This was not Naraku. This was not some halfbreed who needed guile to survive and defeat his enemies.

This was something that had so much power, was so much..._more..._than they were that it was using guile and shadows to...perhaps...even _avoid_ killing them.

Not for the first time Sango wondered what Naruto would have done. How he would have reacted to all of this. What he would say, how he would help.

A part of her blamed him...she was ashamed to admit it but it was true. If he hadn't..._trusted_ that..._thing_ maybe none of this would have happened.

Maybe he wasn't being hunted by the Gods. Maybe this was all just some...

She sighed, a long suffering breath that made her shoulders slump.

Even more than her anger though...

She missed him.

She missed him...Kagome...Shippo and Kirara that they'd left behind in the village.

She missed them all.

Why couldn't thing's just-

"You are the Hanyou, Inuyasha."

Her head snapped up, everyone, even Inuyasha with his keen hearing and sense of smell hadn't sensed or felt anything getting closer.

Their eyes swiveled up to the sky where man, dressed in nothing but white, with skin as pale as porcelain descended.

At a glance he seemed human, but anything more than a glance and even a child could tell he was anything but.

His features were sharp and angular, his eyes the strangest shade of blue. His hair was long, reaching to the middle of his back and black as the night sky.

His feet touch the ground, and he stared straight through the three of them.

"Tell me." He said. "Where is the anomaly?"

* * *

"Alright." Gakushu muttered, all but huddling with his fellow Nanyo students. "We open up with our weakest, tire her out, then go with our strongest. That means you Sonsaku, then me, then Koukin to let him rest, and finally Ryomou"

"Hey!" Hakufu cried, her cheeks puffing in indignation. "I'm not the weakest!"

"Doesn't matter who's weakest or who's strongest, either way we all go up before Ryomou! She's our best shot at taking down Unchou!"

Hakufu pouted, kicking at the dirt like some despondent child. "Not the weakest." She muttered.

* * *

Miroku had not lived a long life hunting demons and conning wealthy fools out of their money by being stupid.

His wind tunnel had attributed greatly to his survival when he still had it, but mostly, he'd been able to get by on his wits and his training as a monk.

Which is why, when every sense, instinct and finely tuned sixth sense told him he was in danger, he tended to listen to it.

And it was screaming at him right now.

"I will not ask again." The pale man said. "Where is the anomaly? Uzumaki Naruto?"

Miroku wasn't sure if he should be dismayed or reassured at the fact that the Kitsune wasn't lying to them.

Reassured because that meant that...well...they hadn't been lied to, which meant that Kagome was most likely alive since the demoness had referred to her as 'bait', because they'd apparently done their job and Naruto's hunters were _here_ not where he was.

And dismayed...because this essentially meant that they were fighting the forces of the _divines._

Inuyasha growled, his fangs bared. Miroku hoped his temper wouldn't have him say anything stupid.

His friend drew the Tetsusaiga with a snarl. "How bout I just cut off your head and you can try again next time?"

"You show no surprise." He said with a raised eyebrow. "That must mean he told you we would come for him. Did he tell you who we are?"

"You could be my thrice damned father back from the dead wearing women's clothes and smelling like the shit stain you are. I'll still kick your ass."

He lifted his sword. And the time for words came to an end.

"Wind Scar!"

* * *

Despite her dislike of being labeled the "weakest" Hakufu was still grinning from ear to ear as she stared down the distance that separated her and Kanu Unchou.

In contrast Unchou's face looked like it was carved from stone, eyes narrowed and jaw set, the young woman didn't even seem to have been affected by the nasty hit Chouhi had taken. Other than drag her free of the fighting zone into some shade she hadn't done anything more.

The referee brought his hand up.

"Don't interfere." Kanu said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

From his vantage point, Naruto leaned back in his seat. _'Not unless you make me.'_

The referee let his hand fall. "Begin!"

Hakufu charged with a shout.

Naruto felt his lip curl beneath his mask. _'Wrong move.'_

Her opening move was as explosive as her personality, leaping up and moving to deliver a flying spin kick to the side of Kanu's head.

One hand rose, meeting the incoming foot with enough force to nearly reverse the spinning motion completely. Hakufu stumbled, barely catching her feet in time to avoid falling flat on her face.

Naruto watched as the girl tried to turn, to face her opponent.

_No. Get out of reach._

The next thing anyone could see was Hakufu's body flying back, rolling across the ground so violently, deep scratches broke the skin of her limbs, cutting through the cloth of her shirt to find her back, arms and legs.

"Hakufu!"

"Sonsaku!"

Her classmates shouted, shocked by the unbelievably quick dispatch as the girl came to a stop after nearly five yards of scraping over unrelenting gravel.

Even Naruto had to admit. That hadn't been so much a hit, as it was a rampaging bull disguised as a fist.

"Wow..." Everyone heard her, allowing Koukin to somewhat breathe easier, knowing that his cousin wasn't killed outright.

Her voice was strained though, and as she struggled to get back to her feet it was easy to see that this was not something she was just going to 'walk off'

"That one..._really_ hurt." She wheezed, gasping as she sat up, and then slowly struggled to stand. "Even more than...Mou-chan's"

"Stay down." Kanu advised, observing calmly as the girl stood on shaky legs. "You have to see you can't win this with your level of skill."

* * *

"Damnit, Gakushu call this off!" Koukin hissed at the larger student. "She can't fight her."

"She has to."

"She's going to get hurt!"

"We're fighters." The larger student replied, frowning at the blue haired boy. "Its part of the job."

"I'm not going to let her-"

"Calm down." Ryomou's soft spoken voice made him quiet down. The girl hardly ever spoke. So when she did people tended to listen. "Sonsaku-san will be alright. Kanu might hurt her but she won't kill her or cripple her."

"How do you know?"

Ryomou turned her one eye over to him, leveling him with a bored stare. "Too much honor for that."

* * *

Hakufu smiled "Its not about winning or loosing Nu-chan!" The affectionate nickname earned a raised eyebrow. "Its about fighting!"

The bubbly Nanyo student took her stance, an enthusiasm in her green eyes. "Come on! Don't hold back on me Nu-chan!"

That earned a smirk from the Seito elite. "You have no idea what you're asking for Sonsaku-san."

Never the less, she took her own stance.

Once more, it was Hakufu that attacked first.

She came in more cautiously this time. Her guard was up, and the kick she delivered to Kanu's midsection was more a reach test than anything else.

The blows came steadily faster, the both of them exchanging faster and faster strikes. Hakufu was clearly demonstrating an effort, determined to get past Kanu's stalwart defense while the older girl looked no more rattled than a tree under a strong wind.

It only took Naruto a second to deduce that she was letting Hakufu wear herself out.

When Hakufu's attack finally relented, he was proven right.

Where Sonsaku had been a strong wind, Kanu was a living typhoon.

Fist, foot, knee and elbow struck at every opening, every area left exposed, knees, shins, ribs. Hakufu was left reeling, trying now to gain some distance between herself and her enemy.

She stumbled, and it was over.

Kanu's fist struck straight and true, right between Hakufu's raised arms to land a blow at the bridge of her eyes...

or at least it should have.

Faster than what even Naruto could see, Hakufu _moved_ swerving to one side before those same arms Kanu's fist had passed between encircled themselves around the appendage, one at the wrist, the other at the elbow.

Naruto smirked. _'Good girl!'_

The gasps from Koukin, Gakushu and Ryomou give voice to Kanu's own surprise as the quick shift in momentum is enough to bring her to one knee, Hakufu, trapping her arm in a lock as one of her legs goes over the Seito elites shoulder ready to press down and dislocate the whole limb.

"Give up!" Hakufu yells, though there's no anger there, only elation, excitement, even with bruises already forming over much of her exposed skin, she had been honest when she said it wasn't about winning or loosing. She just loved to fight.

Winning was a sweet bonus however.

Kanu grit her teeth, looking over her shoulder with an irritated glare before the hand and knee that had been holding her up, dropped, allowing her to fall flat to the floor.

The added room allowed her to maneuver, rolling onto her back as Hakufu realized she'd just lost the leverage needed to effectively dislocate Kanu's arm.

The kick that came from Kanu's place on the ground, was straight, true, and utterly vicious. The heel of the Seito elite's foot connected squarely with the bottom of Hakufu's chin!

The Nanyo girl was lifted off her feet before she fell to the floor, unmoving.

Kanu sat up, standing with all the patience in the world before she looked to the referee behind her. "Call it. She won't be getting up."

The young man nodded, opening his mouth to speak before...

"_Hehehehe."_

* * *

The world shuddered, three pillars of demonic power carving their way through the earth, digging great trenches through the rock and soil as the attack that could slay a hundred demons in a single stroke washed over their enemy.

When the dust settled they found the man standing there, his hand held forward, a shimmering silver barrier surrounding him before it dropped.

At first glance, he seemed unharmed, but at a closer inspection Miroku could see the burn along his hand, the crack on his armor.

The man looked down, raising his eyebrow at his smoking hand like it was the most curious thing in the entire world. "Surprising" he said. "You are stronger than I expected. Or perhaps it is the limitations of this body."

He moved, as fast as Sesshomaru ever was, and Miroku lost him not finding him again until the Tetsusaiga clashed against the heavenly creature's own conjured sword with the sound of ringing steel.

Inuyasha raised his fist, decking the celestial across the jaw as he raised his own hand pressing it to the half breed's chest.

With a ripple of power Inuyasha was sent flying, Tetsusaiga slipping from his grasp and his body crashing through a tree.

With a battle-cry, Sango threw her Hiraikotsu, with Miroku firing off his sutras.

But this was a creature of the heavens. His blessings did nothing, and with greater deftness than someone so unfamiliar with his own limitations should ever have, he caught the Hiraikotsu in his grip, spinning it perfectly before tossing it right back at her.

Sango jumped over her own weapon with a roll, drawing her sword as she charged. Miroku felt his stomach drop into nothing. His heart jerking in his chest with worry that choked him.

The creature took a stance, fully expecting to face her frontal attack head on when Sango shouted. "Inuyasha!"

She threw her sword, dropping down into a slide as the Celestial's eyes snapped over towards the white haired Hanyou who lunged out of the tree line, catching Sango's sword as the slayer grabbed the rusted, chipped piece of metal that Tetsusaiga now was and swung at his legs while Inuyasha swung at his face.

With a blurred after image he was gone, ten feet away with a curious look on his face.

"You mortals are so curious with your thoughts." He said as Sango and Inuyasha traded weapons the Tetsusaiga once more transforming.

* * *

Hakufu's knees bend, enough for her feet to lay flat on the floor before her torso slowly lifts itself up, all but levitating off the ground until her body stands straight.

That was the first clue that told Naruto something was _very _wrong, the next thing was Hakufu's smile. She'd always had a pretty smile, warm and innocent like a child. Open really. Even when she was getting ready to fight her smiles were like that.

But this was something that conveyed a different message. Here he saw genuine cruelty behind those lips.

It was her eyes however, that made the blond Shinobi reel.

They were still green, the only real difference he could notice was the hair thin slit that had replaced the normally round pupil.

_Jinchuuriki? _His mind came up short at the only explanation he could think of.

He stood up, realizing that whatever relaxation time he had might very well be over if Kanu wouldn't be able to stop her. Although, given his state, he wasn't sure how much better he'd do if...whatever this was made Hakufu that much stronger.

He spared a glance to the others, while Kanu was eying Hakufu warily the Nanyo students were looking at their classmate with baffled disbelief.

Save one who looked on with worry instead.

Koukin.

He knew.

He would have words with his client later, he decided, watching as Hakufu raised her hand, brandishing a set of seemingly sharp claws as she grinned at Kanu who took up her stance.

He let his chakra flow through his system.

And Hakufu froze, face going slack with dumb shock.

Naruto tensed, his instinct telling him he'd made a mistake, frozen in a moment of indecision as Hakufu stared at something or other for several moments before turning her head to face his direction.

Her lips curl into a snarl, those green, animal eyes _seethe_ there's hatred in her face before she rushes towards him, ignoring the confused shouts of the others.

She lunges, her whole body smashing through the stained, grimy window he'd been staring out of; her claws poised to rip out his throat.

* * *

Kagome felt her stomach roil in fear churning and quailing with terror as she lay in place, paralyzed by the Kitsune's eldritch power.

She fought with everything she had, all her energy coming to bear to try and break the hold this thing had on her. But it was like trying to push off a mountain. Breathing hurt, blinking hurt, she couldn't even speak, frozen as she was.

And the monster hovered over her, her clawed digit gouging something into the metal. Single scratches marking the side of that red blade with runes and seals that no mortal being could hope to understand today.

Her heart pounded, thundering beneath her chest as blood rushed through her temples, drowning out all the ambient sounds save for the screeches of newly scratched steel.

The Kitsune's smile was pearl white, a sick glee on her face. "You told me once." She drawled. "That you'd be willing to pay any price to save Naruto."

She shifted, coming closer to lean directly over her, their noses brushing as ruby red peered deep into frightened brown. "Time to prove it sweetling."

* * *

After years of combat, Naruto was certain he could fairly ascertain someone's abilities just by looking at them. He may not be able to say just how skilled they were at their chosen discipline, but weather or not they were people that would try to either use trickery and illusion, or just plain old flatten him with overwhelming power was within his powers of deduction.

Or at least, he'd thought so.

As it stood he was beginning to feel as though his powers of observation might require some work, considering that this, nothing-but-legs slip of a girl had just thrown him into a metal crate hard enough to dent the steel from halfway across the room, with nothing but the raw, brute force of a simple shove.

She stalked closer like some predator, her face still alight with rage.

Extricating himself from the remains of what was once a perfectly good storage crate, Naruto winced as he straightened. "Hakufu?" He called warily, uncertain. "Hakufu, you still in there?"

She growled, in a way no human would have been able to, those green eyes nearly glowing in the gloom and that was all the answer he needed. Whatever this thing was Hakufu was long gone for the time being.

The warehouse gate opened with a screech, light flooding the space, distracting his opponent, and charge as she turned to face the newcomers with a screech of anger.

He attacked.

She, or whatever was controlling her, noticed just a bit too late.

His fingertips struck at her windpipe, she gasped and choked, hands flying to her exposed neck, leaving her open to the fist that caught her across the jaw, and the knee he drove into her stomach. He brought his arm up, ready to deliver an elbow to the base of her neck as she doubled over when she snapped like some freakish spring trap, side stepping the elbow strike before jumping with a spin, her claws very nearly ripping his eyes out as they swiped down.

Even though he'd managed to dodge the crippling wound, that did not mean he'd dodged it entirely, her claws raked across his chest, the unnaturally sharp nails tearing through three layers of cloth and gouging three deep wounds with little more than a graze.

He hissed, backing away as Gakushu and the referee came round one of the storage crates. "What the hell is going on here!" The referee screamed. "This is a violation of the Tournament agreements, I'll have you-"

Hakufu rounded on the man, his voice easily drawing her limited attention and Naruto immediately took his opportunity to leap up to the ceiling, into the shadows of the myriad support frames and iron work perches.

At his disappearance Hakufu seemed to realize her mistake now searching for him, hands brandished like claws, snarling like some beast, even as the others flooded the warehouse, the wide open gate providing too much light for his liking.

"Hakufu!" Koukin's voice bounced off the steel walls, even spoken at a normal volume as it was.

Naruto took a moment to catch his breath, the wound across his chest hurt more than it should have truth be told.

He pulled at the layers of cloth, making them open just a bit more so he could get a good look. They looked worse than they felt, like he'd just been mauled by a bear that failed the claw sharpening class.

He took a breath stealing a glance down to the ground where Hakufu was eying the other five people that now stood around her like some cornered tigress, arms and legs spread. Not even bothering with the pretense of a fighting stance.

"Sonsaku-san?" Ryomou said, inching her way closer. "Koukin, what's wrong with her?"

"I...I don't know." He said and Naruto knew that he was going to have words with his employer later.

He drew two shuriken, channeling wind into the small spinning blades before tossing them.

The chain holding up the gate snapped in two, and the metal sheet came down with a heart stopping crash that made everyone jump, not only at the sound, but also because, until their eyes adjusted to the gloom, they were effectively blind. The only light that could reach them was the one coming in from the window Hakufu had broken.

Next, the Jinchuuriki channeled chakra to his voicebox, throwing the sound as best he could while channeling chakra to his eyes to see in the dark. "Back away from her!"

Gakushu, Koukin, the referee and Hakufu especially, looked around, trying to find his voice. Kanu and Ryomou kept their eyes fixed on the girl.

"She is dangerous!"

At the last word, Hakufu's eyes snapped right up towards him, that gaze somehow piercing through the dark, snarling as her eyes flashed green.

She didn't jump so much as shoot off the ground with a rage filled battle cry.

Naruto cursed, backing away, seeking to once more fade back into the shadows before Hakufu was right ontop of him.

Whatever, klutzy tendencies the bubbly girl had on a regular basis, they were completely eradicated now. They stood on the warehouse's foot wide support scaffolding, the ceiling just an inch or so above their heads and the girl was keeping her balance like some vicious, rabid monkey, claws and kicks aiming to rend him limb from limb or otherwise toss him to a rather painful collision with the ground

Naruto saw her kick coming, too fast to block.

So he didn't.

With a swivel he was now standing upside down on the railing, just managing to see the surprise, that cut through the rage induced haze Hakufu seemed to have over her before reaching up (down?) and grabbing onto her ankle.

With a yank the girl fell onto the railing, awkwardly holding herself up. Naruto heard shouts below, but had too little mind to pay much attention to them considering that, like that deranged monkey he'd compared her too earlier, Hakufu lunged off the railing, catapulting herself with the strength of her bare arms to latch onto him like some tick. She grabbed onto his legs while he grabbed onto hers to keep her from kicking.

Then he felt her bite.

It was a vicious, brutal attack as her teeth sank down to the gums into his leg, just above the ankle.

The shock of the sudden pain forced a scream from his lips and for his chakra grip on the railing to fail, sending them both plummeting to the warehouse floor some twenty five feet below.

Hakufu was oblivious to the approaching danger. Still biting down, her claws now seeking to rip at the skin of his legs even as he struggled and kicked to get out of the clamping teeth.

Every action Naruto's mind frantically went through to escape was immediately discarded each one suffering from the fatal flaw of very likely leaving Hakufu crippled, or dead by the time he was done and she'd fallen the rest of the way. He did not know the extent of her durability with this power coursing through her veins.

He braced himself as best he could before he and Hakufu crashed onto the unyielding concrete like a brick of tangled limbs.

* * *

Kagome worked her lips, forcing herself to speak, to push through this, every ounce of willpower focused on just moving her mouth to give voice.

"Pl-" Her voice was like sandpaper, dry, scratching at the inside of her voicebox like she had a sore throat. "Please." Her strength ebbed, her lips parted in half a word as she stared at the demoness.

For the first time. Kyuubi's eyes softened. And she could see for a brief window of time the woman that Naruto trusted beneath the monstrous veneer.

"You think this will kill you don't you?" the red woman questioned, not allowing for an answer. "I will not lie to you child. It will...Not immediately. Perhaps you will have time enough for your goodbyes" She shrugged. "Perhaps you will not." She seemed to ponder something. "Would it matter if I said I'm sorry?"

The hold faded, and Kagome was allowed a few unobstructed breaths before allowed to speak. "You...don't mean it."

"No." The ancient creature of destruction contested, her eyes still strangely soft as they stared down at the Miko. "I do. Just not sorry to you. My regret is that I must slay yet another of his friends to save him."

Kagome's eyes closed tears leaking from the corners as her throat clogged and her nose sealed up with the rush of emotion. _'I don't want to die.'_

She realized she'd spoken aloud when the Kyuubi answered. "Few ever do."

Then she stood, the blade rising, its pommel held up with one hand to the demoness' chest level as the tip gleamed directly over the young girls heart.

"You might wish to brace yourself." She said. No longer smiling, her eyes no longer soft. "This will be very painful."

And the blade fell down to pierce her chest in a wash of red blood.

* * *

At least two of his ribs were broken.

It was rather easy to ascertain considering that breathing hurt more than his chest wound, or the leg bite, or even the broken ribs themselves.

He may have also sprained a wrist...and rattled his brain...and cracked his skull...minor things really compared to the breathing.

The silver lining here was that Hakufu was not only still breathing. She wasn't moving.

Who knew that all it would have taken was a twenty something foot drop onto her head to knock her out. Must have brought back some past memories of her toddler years.

He heard Koukin shouting, the others running towards them.

He moved, rising to his feet as quickly as he could manage. The others stopped, Koukin didn't, sliding on his knees the last few feet to reach Hakufu, checking her over.

Naruto was spared feeling like chopped liver when the boy looked up at him, worry shining through those eyes for him as well. Naruto tried to give something akin to a reassuring smile, but that really came out more like a grimace than anything remotely reassuring.

He backed up, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Backing up towards the shattered window as Gakushu and Ryoumou stepped past Koukin, glaring at him now.

"Who are you?" It was Ryomou that asked.

"And the paradox of asking someone with a mask, who he is, continues." He snipped, using his glibness as a weak, thin veil to hide his weakened state.

"Who sent you here?" Gakushu this time. "Was it Toutaku? Seito?" The burly youth tossed a look at Kanu over his shoulder, the raven haired beauty hung back, merely observing along side the referee, though the narrowed eyes showed well enough she'd taken offense to that suggestion.

"If I tell do I get a finders fee for telling you who wants you _taken care of_?"

He tossed a look at Koukin, telling the boy with his gaze to keep quiet. The blue haired teen was clearly conflicted, if any of the two even bothered to even glance at him they would all but read the sympathy there. The last thing Koukin wanted to see, was his friends adding even more punishment to what Hakufu had leveled on him.

Ryomou stepped forward, now taking her stance "Gakushu, Tiger flank." She called out, probably a formation they used during two on two matches or something.

"Got it." The big guy said, cracking his knuckles and his neck.

Naruto took a strained breath, he just needed a few more steps...

"Enough of this farce!"

It was Kanu who spoke, her voice cutting through the tension like a razor blade. She walked forward, glaring at Koukin.

In a second Naruto knew that she was going to talk. For whatever reason...

This was not the best distance. But it would have to do.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with little miss Unchou." He shrugged. "The game of twenty questions is over, and its time I leave."

You're not going anywhere." Ryomou hissed, before she moved to attack.

With his back to the light of the shattered window, his form was silhouetted, as was the handseal.

Before Ryomou could get within reach to grab him in one of her famous holds a blast of wind, funneled through the narrow frame of the window rushed right through, carrying shards of sharp glass that it ripped from the windows edges, a few of them striking Naruto's chakra reinforced cloak while the rest rushed straight past.

Ryomou and Gakushu closed their eyes in surprise for a second.

When they opened them again, he was gone.

* * *

The pale man straightened, his head turning to face north east.

Inuyasha hissed with pain, struggling to rise to his feet once more.

His clothes were drenched with blood, his entire body shaking with the effort to fight through the pain of nearly being disemboweled.

Sango and Miroku were unconscious, only that. He'd suspect the Celestial had even gone out of his way to spare them really.

The dead give no answers...and can't really be used as hostages.

Tetsusaiga is heavy in his hands. He barely has the strength to even hold the hilt, the body of the sword resting over the ground.

He panted, every breath bringing bloody saliva to seep through his teeth. "That's it? That's all your prissy ass got? That Bastard Sesshomaru hits harder than you!"

The pale man turned around to face him, raising an incredulous eyebrow at the Hanyou's bravado given his state.

"You have wasted enough of my time. The sooner the anomaly is dealt with the better." And without another word he rose into the air, turning sharply before flying off.

As his eyes darkened, and the strength in his legs abandoned him Inuyasha took careful note of the direction he'd gone to.

Then he promptly collapsed.

* * *

"These interferences have gotten completely out of hand." The referee for the match decried, his face flushed with anger. "Twice now the same man has found the location of combat. This leads me to believe he is being informed by one of your schools."

Gakushu balked at the words. "Hey now hold on a secon-"

"Without any way to ascertain which school is responsible for the leak of classified information" The referee plowed through, shouting over Gakushu's protest. "-and thus, responsible for the breaking of the agreements enclosed in good faith between the schools tournament arrangements I find both Seito private school and Nanyo academy to hold comparable negligence in this matter, and thus both schools will be eliminated from the tournament."

"What!" Gakushu barked.

Koukin kept his eyes on Hakufu, worried as his cousin continued to remain absolutely unconscious, some of the cuts and scrapes from her earlier fight with Kanu still bleeding, a fresh, dark bruise forming over her shoulder. It might be where she'd landed.

He glanced up, his gaze finding Kanu, pleading.

The raven haired Seito student looked at him out of the very corner of her eye. She could very well point out that Naruto was under his employ. It wouldn't take much time to prove. In his condition he might very well have headed back to the house, or would soon have to without any money or identification for a doctor, Koukin would be his only viable option really.

It was a tense moment between the two of them, and Koukin could feel his heart thumping in nervousness beneath his chest as Gakushu argued with the referee.

"Shuyu-san."

Ryomou's voice was so startling the boy nearly jumped out of his skin. Meeting her one exposed eye he found her features to have broken free of their usual stoicism allowing her own sense of worry to bleed through. "Shuyu-san, Sonsaku needs medical attention."

Koukin shook himself out of his stupor. "Uhh, yeah...yeah you're right."

"I'll take her to the hospital Shuyu-san. Go to your home and get her some things. She might be staying for a few days."

"The decision is final!" The referee suddenly barked and Koukin nearly flinched feeling Kanu's gaze burning holes in the back of his skull.

He swallowed, trying to moisten his all too dry throat. "Right. I'll...I'll go."

Ryomou nodded, as Koukin heard the referee beginning to leave through the door beside the cut down gate.

The boy stood, hearing Gakushu sigh, he found Kanu's burning gaze, meeting her stare for a full three seconds before the raven haired girl turned to leave as well.

The message was almost palpable.

He owed her.

He didn't want to leave through the same door, some might call him a coward for that. He left through the broken window. This exit was closer to where he had to go anyway. He felt conflicted on leaving Hakufu on her own, Ryomou always intimidated him, but he knew she considered Hakufu a friend. If he would trust anyone with his cousin's safety it would be her.

He rounded the corner, making his way to central avenue where he'd catch the train home when a hand shot out from one of the alleys. He released a startled, squak as it latched onto his collar and dragged him back in.

He very nearly struggled before finding that his attacker was none other than his very badly bleeding employee.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah..." The blond coughed. It sounded wet. "You and I need to talk. Preferably on the way to a place where I can drop dead for a day."

As if to point out just how serious he was about that last part, the blond's legs chose that moment to give out on him.


	8. Chapter 8

Somewhere, distantly, Naruto recognized he felt rather bad.

He was bleeding all over Koukin's nice clean floor.

And the boy seemed so much more concerned with him than the floor. Didn't he know how difficult it was to remove bloodstains once they'd dried over hard wood?

Somewhere else, also distantly, the blond recognized he was starting to fall into blood loss induced delirium.

Never really happened before; to him anyway. By now he'd normally have healed.

Did everyone get the tingly feeling in their fingers?

If anything he thought it should have been his toes tingling. That leg wound was where he was still bleeding. The chest wound hadn't been pretty but it'd finally clotted halfway here.

Honestly. If teeth were this good a weapon he was gonna start using his. He could grow fangs if he wanted to.

He started chuckling.

Then he remembered he was bleeding all over Koukin's nice clean floor and stopped.

When the blue haired teen finally came into view, a first aid kit box in hand the Shinobi decided now was a good time to apologize "Your floor is nice."

Wait...that wasn't how an apology goes...

Koukin paused looking up at him completely befuddled before shaking off his stupor and rolling up the mauled fabric of his pants up to his knee to get a good look at the most prominent injury.

The youth hissed his face showing sympathy to go with the tinges of green on his cheeks.

Naruto opened one eye staring at Koukin, trying to focus for a bit when he saw the boy seemed utterly lost. "Clean it first. Hot water is preferable but any will do."

Koukin nodded, standing and running towards the kitchen before coming back about a minute later with a full bowl of hot water and a towel. Should have told the kid to grab a bucket.

"After you clean it, disinfect with alcohol, then just bandage it up."

"Don't you need anti-biotics and-"

"I'll be fine..." He interrupted. "I won't get sick, it wont get infected. Just bandage it tight enough to seal the injury. Then get back to Hakufu. Rather not leave her alone for too long."

"I'm sorry." Koukin said, "I didn't think."

"We'll talk later. After I can retain more than a handful of sentences with less effort."

The boy nodded.

The sound of the front door opening brought them both up rather short.

When the unmistakeable figure of Kanu Unchou rounded the corner Naruto half felt like groaning.

"K-Kanu-san!" Koukin said, standing up and dropping Naruto's bleeding foot, painfully jostling the injury.

This time he did groan.

Kanu's voice didn't rise, her features didn't shift from that displeased scowl she perpetually wore. "What exactly happened back there?"

Koukin looked down, shuffling from foot to foot. "I...I don't know."

"Kid, I'm half delirious and I don't buy that one." Naruto put in. "I should warn you though. I might not be fully conscious for the whole song and dance so you may have to repeat it later."

Koukin looked to the both of them, Naruto's half lidded gaze attentively observing while Kanu's seemed to rip through him like a lance.

Koukin looked down. "I...I don't know what exactly happens. I-I just know it happens sometimes when she gets too excited...when her opponent is too strong. She just...goes a little overboard."

Naruto looked down at his still profusely bleeding leg. "Might be more than just 'a little'"

Koukin seemed to notice that he still hadn't bandaged Naruto's foot, he knelt down and began to wrap it again.

* * *

"Did you hear? Nanyo and Seito were both disqualified before reaching the semi-finals."

"Wha? But then that means Kyosho proceeds straight away against us in the finals!"

"Yeah. I heard some masked guy completely messed up the fight."

"Masked guy? The same one that took out Yoshu?"

"I don-know. Maybe."

Ryofu straightened where she sat hoping to listen to more, but soon enough the girls chatter fell away into personal things.

She closed her textbook, her mind no longer focused on its contents. She stood up, walking through the hallways of the school, as pieces began to click together.

If what those girls said was true, then it was almost certain that the masked guy was working for Kyosho. They've been openly gunning against Toutaku for months. Now they were guaranteed a shot at fighting him with each and every single one of their fighters fresh. None would be incapacitated or injured by fighting the big four of Nanyo, or any of the three S ranked fighters of Seito.

With someone like him working for Kyosho, they were most definitely aiming to kill Toutaku.

Rakuyo only had two S class fighters to its name right now. Herself and Toutaku.

Toutaku wasn't stupid, he knew that he couldn't count on her backup and that Kyosho wouldn't kill her, that would give away their intent to kill him as well. Then they couldn't take the high ground and claim it was an accident.

He was going to try some way to weasel out of the fight against Kyosho.

She couldn't afford to have him around anymore. Things were getting tense with him. He was trying to find ways to escape his destiny, to have her killed. Soon he'd abandon any pretense of subtlety and go after her and Chinkuyu directly. Then she'd have to kill him. That was not a confrontation both of them would walk away from.

She was destined to kill him. And in turn, she was destined to die by the hand of Kyosho and Seito.

But...if she cooperated with Kyosho helped their little masked agent, and in turn, them, kill Toutaku; then what motivation would they have exactly to kill her?

Her story was written; that she'd kill Toutaku for her own reasons, and die in turn later...but what if one element could be changed? What if she helped another kill Toutaku? Would it be enough to change her fate? To defy the so called immaculate force of destiny?

She wasn't sure. But she was willing to try at the very least.

* * *

Koukin finished tying up the last of the bandage. "Is that good?"

"Yeah." He answered throwing a glance down at his foot. "Get going kid. Don't leave Haku-chan by herself eh."

He nodded, standing up and walking around the puddle of blood. It was coagulating and it would stain horribly, but his cousin was more important. He ran up the stairs, and a few minutes later came down a full duffel bag over his shoulder filled with clothes and some essentials. "Will you be alright?" He asked before leaving, looking at the bleeding appendage with palpable worry.

Naruto waved him away. "I'll be fine kid."

Koukin nodded, then he turned to the only other remaining occupant in the room. "Umm... Miss Kanu."

The raven haired woman turned those flint sharp eyes up to him.

The timid youth bowed after a moment. "Have a nice evening."

Without another word he turned and left.

Naruto chuckled after making sure he was well out of earshot. "The moment that boy grows a spine things will get very interesting.

Then he pulled his leg up.

Kanu stood marching over towards him. "Why didn't you tell him he was doing it wrong.

"The boy's got enough confidence issues without...some half delirious idiot telling him 'you're doing it wrong.'"

She sat at his side, surprising him when she reached over and began undoing the bandage.

"Mind telling me why you decided to stay and help me?"

"You're a thief." She said. "But I'd be remiss if I were to allow you to simply bleed out."

It took a moment for him to answer, slipping in and out of the thick fog of unconsciousness. "Thanks...I owe you."

She said nothing.

The moment the bandage was done. She stood up and left without another word.

Or perhaps he just fell asleep and missed her leaving...

Suddenly his eyes opened, a brief moment of confusion passing over him before he let his head fall back, scoffing with disbelief.

"You women have the _worst_ timing."

He wondered if he still had the presence of mind to focus some chakra before falling unconscious.

* * *

Ryofu stared at the ripped up piece of paper on her desk, lip pursed in distaste.

She felt like a complete idiot.

Of course the goddamn paper didn't work.

Who in the hell was gonna get a message just by ripping up some-

There was a sudden and sharp 'thwack' at her door. The green haired girl raised an eyebrow standing up and marching towards the wooden portal.

Opening it, she saw no one outside, she took a step out before her foot struck something.

Looking down she found a fairly large stone at her foot with something carved on its surface.;

Reaching down, she found the something to be kanji.

_'Somewhat occupied at the moment. I'll find you either tomorrow or the following day. We'll talk then.'_

She raised an eyebrow, wondering why exactly he didn't use paper and instead chiseled a stone, but let it go.

There was a sudden, high pitched shriek and Ryofu recognized Chinkyuu's voice instantly.

By the time she ran over, it was to find the brunette jumping on her tip toes, nearly in tears. "What the hell's the matter!" She yelled, confused, alarmed and somewhat amused now that she realized her girlfriend was not in any immediate danger.

"A big, nasty frog just jumped on my foot!"

Ryofu felt her heart pounding in her chest, the sudden burst of adrenaline dying away as she laughed, long and loud.

"Its not funny!"

That only served to make her laugh harder.

* * *

"So...Nanyo and Seito then?" Toutaku asked, once more immersed in his hobby. Botany. The schools green house was as ruddy and humid as ever.

"Yes sir Kyosho will be challenging us in the finals in two days."

Toutaku chuckled. "Oh...who knows...maybe not."

* * *

The rain lashed outside, and inside the cave water dripped from overhanging stalagmites, falling into shallow pools that overflowed with every new drop, allowing the liquid to fall through the crevices and cracks in the stone.

He entered slowly, the light, all but non existent in this place, refusing to enter beyond some invisible veil at the mouth of the cave.

A peal of thunder drew his eyes back outside, the roaring rumble vibrating through his chest, before he turned his attention back inside.

Only to find a red eyed woman standing two feet in-front of him.

He gasped, his hand flying to the hilt of his sword when her claws latched around his throat, lifting him with childlike ease before slamming him against the cave wall.

"You!" He choked out, surprise and disbelief across his features.

She smiled. Malice and cruelty seeping out from every pore of her face. "Yes...Me." Her grip tightened, and he could feel the razor edge of those claws start to dig into the flesh he'd been gifted with. He pulled at his sword, held in his scabbard by this beasts malignant will. Against nearly any other creature in this world he would be powerful enough. But against this beast even the mightiest of gods would hesitate before provoking her ire. "Me, Me, Me." She laughed.

All at once the darkness bled away from this place, leaving his senses open to the world once again. The full proximity of the anomalies' presence invaded his every thought. His eyes drew over towards the back of the cave, where the faint, flickering light of a flame managed to escape the depths.

"You...you protect it?"

"Aren't you a smart little insect."

"Yo-you know...that there are rules." He gasped, struggling to rip the words out of his throat and her grasp. "You would defy heaven!?"

An insane, wholly demonic glint glimmered in her eyes to answer him.

"You will be hunted!" He warned. "You, along with him! They will cut you from the fabric entirely if they must!"

"I appreciate your concern. But you and I both know, that I am as eternal as your masters." She chuckled, somewhere low in her throat. "They won't open that door unless they absolutely have to. Even if they wanted to, the Guardians won't let them."

He opened his mouth to speak, but her grip, instantly evolved from constricting, to crushing, staying his words. "Now go back to your masters, and tell them that the next fool they send after me, I'll eliminate in a much more...permanent fashion. Naruto. Is under my protection now!"

And with a harsh, rending of flesh, she ripped the celestial's throat out, bloody viscera replaced by white fog as the heaven born creature dispelled, its soul returning to the realm that it'd come from as its body crumbled into sand, howling urgently towards its lords as the Kyuubi smiled.

The demoness turned, offering one more look into the flickering torchlight where the priestess resided. Her grin fell away, becoming more subdued before vanishing entirely.

She turned and left, the messenger was gone believing what she wished him to believe. She was done here, and whatever happened to Kagome was no longer her concern.

* * *

Next update should come within the next week if everything works out. :p


	9. Chapter 9

Naruto would not remember his dream, trapped in exhausted, near delirious sleep. He would not recall the voice...the words.

Only the color.

Green.

Like the color of deep, rich emeralds.

_"__Even here...for this...such effort."_ It said...whispered and breathy.

_"My power is spent...bled away. I no longer have the strength...__We have been cut open...__and you...you are too small...too mortal to truly comprehend. __"_ It was growing fainter. As though the bearer were being drawn more and more distant with every word.

"_She stepped beyond her station; powers once believed immutable...brought low by her hand. Usurping the natural order...As you did."_

"_You...a child of dust..." _There was no anger in its words. No bitterness. Only the faintest hint of sorrow. _"P__ity the world__s__ should you fail...You its doom...you its hope... you...pitiable creature that lives on memories of long faded ghosts."_

"_The wheels cannot turn forever without passage...Even we cannot endure like this...Do you have the strength? The will? To sacrifice again?"_

"_Pity the worlds should you fail child of dust...for you are its last, tenuous hold on existence."_

* * *

Sango groaned, her whole body shrouded in bone deep pain. Every fiber of her body singing songs of aches and stiffness.

There was an insistent, periodic pressure against her shoulder, making her whole body lurch and shift, rocking back and forth.

Her brows knit themselves together, face scrunching up as she slowly returned to full consciousness before her eyes fluttered open, only to wince at the harsh brightness of the mid day sun filtering in through the barrier that was the rice paper door.

Miroku was hovering over her, one arm bound in a sling, a bandage around the crown of his head.

"Miroku?" She croaked, swallowing to moisten an all too dry throat.

The monk sighing in something akin to relief. "Sango. Thank goodness."

She wondered for a moment what had happened before she remembered the battle...the thing that had beaten them. "Where are we?" She asked, making an effort to sit up, fighting through the pain that lanced across her stomach and thighs where the muscles were put under the most strain.

"Inuyasha brought us here. Its a fishing village, they tended our wounds as best they could." The monks face suddenly took on a grave countenance. "He kept going."

Sango's eyes snapped open at that, staring at the monk. She had fallen before Inuyasha, knocked unconscious as bloodloss and wounds took their toll after it had already thrown Miroku through a tree, nearly snapping her monk in half.

Inuyasha could always take punishment, but even he looked to be on his last legs when she'd last seen him.

To carry them here and then keep going...

"That idiot!" She hissed.

Miroku nodded. "I know. We've been here for almost three days now. We'll never catch up on foot. We need to turn back to Edo, Get Kirara and maybe we'll be able to catch up."

Sango nodded, moving to stand before the pain came back, proving too unbearable as she tried to put her weight on her legs.

Miroku looked grim. "I'll see if I can negotiate for a carriage and horses."

The Demon Slayer grit her teeth, hissing through them as her wounds made themselves well known across her flesh.

* * *

When Naruto woke it was to bone deep aches along his whole body and a head that wouldn't stop pounding.

Weakly, feeling as though it was taking a small window of eternity, he managed to sit up, reaching down to look at the bandages

Dried blood was a good sign.

He reached down, slowly undoing the wound strip of fabric.

He winced at the unfamiliar sensation of dried scabs being tugged by pulled bandage strips.

Looking down at his leg he found a perfect, crescent shaped bitemark.

He reached down into his pouch, pulling a kunai free before slicing his thumb open.

He waited a moment, watching as fresh blood bloomed and dripped from the injury before wiping it off to reveal unbroken skin.

His healing was still working. For a while there he'd been worried traveling through time or Kyuubi's chakra suppressors had dampened it. But that wasn't the case. So whatever this was it was, thankfully, unique to Hakufu so far.

He stood up, wincing as a jolt of pain shot up his leg as he pressed his weight on it.

He couldn't walk far like this...

He channeled his chakra, molding it to familiar patterns as he made the handseal. A second later two clones sprang to existence at his side perfectly whole.

* * *

Ryofu Housen hated class.

Honestly, it wasn't so much the fact that she didn't like learning, because she did, she just didn't like learning like this.

Or maybe it was better to say she didn't feel like she learned anything like this.

There's only so much any student can take at staring at a droll teacher all day as he droned on and on and on and on. Endless lectures that just seemed to have little purpose other than simply boring her to death.

She sighed leaning back on her chair as she rolled her neck.

It was something along her peripheral vision that made her look to the door; making her do a double-take as she saw none other than the masked blond standing outside the classroom door. He waved happily from the other side of the wooden portal's windows.

The door to the ladies room was suddenly thrown open, as Ryofu burst in. "How the hell did you even get in here!"

"Well..." Naruto drawled, following her in. "I used the door."

Ryofu turned around, glaring as she propped herself up against the far wall, leaning on the tiled surface. "Funny." She hissed. "Toutaku has this whole place surrounded. No one can get in without him knowing. Whatever secrecy you enjoyed, you just blew it." She scoffed rolling her eyes to the ceiling.

"Not if they can see someone completely different."

Ryofu's eyes snapped wide open, at the _drastic _change in voice, her gaze snapping back down to stare at a blond haired school girl, with pig tails and three whisker like marks on her cheeks. She was wearing a uniform just like hers.

"How the..."

"Long story." '_She' _said smiling-and giggling. "At any rate. Now we can talk with no one saying you're meeting with a 'Masked man'"

"Everyone saw you walk in here though."

"Even if they did..." _She shrugged._ "What's it matter? Masked man walked in, no one saw us in the hallway, if anyone sees us now...well...you're talking to a cute new-girl."

Ryofu raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Cute?"

_She_ shrugged eying _her _nails appraisingly. "If ya gotta wear the suit, ya gotta make it look decent eh?"

Then the humor was muted, tempered with seriousness. "Well...either way you called me here for more than just idle banter I wonder...Soooooo..."

Ryofu smirked. "You said to me last time we met. '_I just killed the asshole.'"_

"Something like that." The faux girl smirked. The door opened, revealing another student making her way inside, she looked at both of them for a moment before deciding to walk right back out.

Ryofu waited for the door to close before she finished her sentence. "Well...I've got the perfect opportunity for you to get another notch under that belt of yours.

The blond girl grinned.

* * *

Hakufu woke to the shadowed hospital room, the drapes were over the windows, the lights off.

She opened her eyes, blinking with momentary uncertainty before she realized where she was.

She looked around; finding Koukin asleep in a rather uncomfortable looking chair and Ryomou lying down on a rather compact looking couch. Both were sleeping.

She was startled to see a shadow move across her bed, she turned...

And found Naruto standing there.

The blond smiled. "Hey..." He said. "Feeling better?"

"What happened Naru-chan?" She asked, wincing as her dry throat was further irritated.

He tilted his head, one eye closing. "You don't remember?"

She shook her head, struggling to keep her eyes completely open.

The blond smiled gently. "Its ok. We'll talk later. Get some sleep for now eh?"

She smiled and before her eyes were fully closed she was asleep again.

* * *

"The finals?"

"Toutaku has to appear to represent the school against Kyosho." Ryofu answered.

"And Kyosho's looking to kill him...so you're thinking it wont be too difficult to stage an accident."

"Or for you to just kill him outright if Kyosho fails to bring him down. He'll be tired after his fights." She said. "The only people that can adequately represent this school against the people Kyosho has lined up, are me, and him. I'm a no show, he's got to fight them all. Either they kill him or he kills them all, in which case he'll be tired and easy prey for you."

"Hmm." Naruto rubbed his chin in thought.

Truth be told he had little doubt he could Kill Toutaku himself. What he wasn't sure of was, for one thing, where he was, what he looked like, or how many fighters could be with him and how strong _they _could be.

The only thing that gave him a moment's pause, was Ryofu herself. She was obviously strong and wanted Toutaku dead. Was he still alive because he was that much stronger than she was? Or was it because this so called _Fate _had something else in store for him, or her...

Still...this could prove useful. Toutaku was going to die, there were too many people from what he could see, gunning for him for it not to happen. The main question was what would happen after the dust settled.

He gave a mental shrug. He'd never been that good at planning too far ahead. "Still...I'm wondering why we should wait for the tournaments at all? Sure it could make our job easier but more things can go wrong in a public place. Tell me where he is now and I'll go deal with him."

"Hah!" She scoffed. "Not a chance. The moment there's any attack on him he'll know just what to do to escape. He'll have people flooding that room in seconds. You wont succeed and we have one shot at this. The public area has more things to take into account but it won't be a place that he'll be able to account for everything, and it'll get him away from the school where he has a lot of the clowns here ready to jump in and help him if things go wrong.

Though part of that was true; to Ryofu, the main reason she wanted to wait until the tournament was one reason and one reason only...

Chinkyuu.

The Tournament would give her enough time to get her out of the school to somewhere safe. If she let him go after Toutaku now, there was too much risk that he'd fail. And if he failed Toutaku would suspect her, it was in his nature. Then there was too much risk of Chinkyuu getting caught in the crossfire.

She could protect herself just fine. She wasn't so good at protecting others.

Naruto shrugged. "Now or later...doesn't matter to me much. Alright then, I'm in, so where's the final taking place."

"We'll know in about two or three days." Ryofu answered. "The representatives of Rakuyo; probably Kaku Bunwa -knowing Toutaku- should be meeting with Kyosho today, the neutral schools will get wind of the agreements and then they'll decide a place. Most likely a place Toutaku told them to pick." She shrugged. "When I find out, I'll tell you then you get there ahead of him, and..." She drew a hand across her throat. "When the time is right."

Naruto nodded. It sounded simple. Short and to the point.

So chances were it was gonna go completely wrong somehow.

* * *

Kaku Bunwa couldn't help but smirk as she looked at the outraged faces of the Kyosho students standing before her.

"What the hell did you say?" Genjo Kakouton second in command of Kyosho academy, snarled, fists clenched, and shaking, all but ready to pounce and strangle her where she stood.

"I'm afraid." She said. "That Rakuyo-private school will have to forfeit the final match of the Tournament."

There was silence between the three of them, heavy and tense.

"Well then." Hokou Kakuka, another of Kyosho's strongest drawled, hands in his pockets, he seemed relaxed. "When can we expect you to hand over the Gokuji?"

Kaku hummed, a finger tapping her her chin. "How bout...never." She watched their features tighten, Kakouton's lips curling, Hokou's shoulders straightening. "Does 'Never'...work for you?"

"The ones who win the tournament get the Gokuji!" Genjo barked. "By the tournament rules you have to-"

"By tournament rules!" She interrupted, cutting him off. "The ones who win the Gokuji must win it by combat...I'm afraid there simply will not be any combat for you to win the Gokuji from us in this tournament."

Genjo sputtered, his rage a palpable thing. "You...you sleazy little-"

There was a chuckle, a slow laugh behind him, and everyone in the room turned their eyes onto the young man sitting up from his laying position.

Motoku Sousou.

"Well then." The leader of Rakuyo smiled. "You won't mind if we just...take it from you...and kill your precious Toutaku in the process eh?"

Kaku smirked. "You can certainly try."

* * *

"Gah"

He coughed. It sounded wet.

His eyes blurred, the soles of his feet bled, every muscle burning and ripping over and over again beneath his flesh. His Haori and hair was caked with dried blood, one eye half lidded, barely even seeing any more as he followed her aura, her scent, the scent of that thing that had attacked them and focused on just putting one foot infront of the other.

There was only one source to follow now. This _had _to be the right one.

He reached down, ripping some green moss from the base of a tree trunk. He hadn't found any fresh water since yesterday.

Stuffing the green mess into his mouth he sucked out the moisture like a sponge, spitting it back out as the sour, metal tasting water wet his too dry throat before he coughed up wet blood to go along with it.

That accounted for the metal taste...

His bare foot snagged on an overgrown root, his whole body lurching forward to leave him fall flat on his face, not even having the energy to put his hands up to catch himself.

He crawled from there.

His hands gripped the grass and pulled himself further as he coughed again, this time with red staining the floor beneath his chin.

Soon enough, he reached a tree, using it to pull himself back to his feet as the world swam and faded.

He felt like dying at the base of this tree.

Then he pushed it away, pushed himself off the tree, and pushed again to get to Kagome.

The rain came suddenly, drenching his all too hot body, wetting the dried blood and cascading down his face in faintly red rivers.

He found the cave after what felt like an eternity.

He stumbled in, his legs giving out at the mouth of it before forcing them to _obey_ and lift him back up.

Her scent was overpowering now, invading his nostrils. She was here.

But her aura...it was wrong...twisted...

_decaying_.

His body seized up, a surge of adrenalin giving him the strength to rush across the length of the cave, cutting up his bleeding feet on jagged rocks before forcing his way through winding stone and twisting passages.

When he found her, he nearly wept.

Laying down on a slab of perfectly cut stone, legs straight, hands clasped over her stomach, raven black hair spread out behind her like a curtain of the night sky.

Her aura was wrong, and now closer he could scent the faint traces of something that made his heart stop beating entirely.

Death.

The scent clung to her like a perfume. Weak still...but slowly getting stronger.

He stepped forward, now that all of his drive had been worn, and he'd reached his goal, everything was slowly shutting down, pure exhaustion he had held back through strength of will alone was attacking with the ferocity of rabid predators.

He fell right beside her, his breathing ragged as his eyes darkened.

"Inuyasha?"

The whisper was so faint he barely heard it. His mouth responding even as he coughed up more blood. "I'm here wench...go..." He nearly gave in to the darkness before he could finish. "Go to sleep...you're safe now...Nothing will hurt you again ok?" He wanted to crawl to her, to take her hand or throw his blood drenched Haori over her to shield her from the bitter cold of this place, to offer some more comfort.

But he couldn't even move...

If there was a reply, he never heard it as his body finally decided _enough_, his eyes fluttered closed as they rolled into the back of his skull.

* * *

Well here we go Soon enough thing's are gonna come to a head in both the Ikki universe revolving around Toutaku and the various schools and the Inuyasha universe revolving around Kyuubi's Machinations. Until then, hope you all enjoyed it, see you next time :p


	10. Chapter 10

"But Koukiiiin!"

Naruto wasn't sure how Hakufu could make a whine sound cute, while bandaged, bruised and cut up.

But she managed it somehow.

He wondered for an off moment if she was distantly related to Rin...

"I wanna go ouuuut!"

"You're still injured!" Koukin protested like a mother hen.

Hakufu's cheeks puffed out indignantly. "I can still walk!"

"You have three bruised ribs, a concussion, a sprained wrist and ankle you can barely make it down the steps by yourself let alone halfway across town to go to the mall!"

"But Koukiiiin!"

And there they started off again.

Naruto sat on the couch, twidling his thumbs as he leaned back, propped his crossed ankles a bit forward and decided to think.

It'd been three days since his meeting with Ryofu. The coordination of the finals could take anywhere from five to ten days from what Koukin had said.

Unfortunately that contrasted almost directly with the things his shadow clones, what few he could make with his vastly depleted reserves, were gathering about Kyosho's movements.

Those guys looked like they were getting ready for all out war rather than a, at most five vs five tournament battle.

Were they planning something bigger? Or preparing for whatever Toutaku might be planning himself?

He doubted the latter because Rakuyo was nearly the exact opposite to Kyosho, or at least were doing a much better job of hiding things.

It may have helped that, outside of the school itself, he had really very little clue on how to find these people.

It would be so much easier if he could just flood the place with shadow clones.

Suddenly there was a whiplash of orange hair infront of him. He blinked, finding Hakufu tearfully staring down at him. "Tell Koukin I'm good enough to goooo!"

Behind her, said teenager, his employer, was staring at him. "Would you tell her she needs the rest!"

"Tell him I'm okay!"

"No your not!"

Both teenagers rounded on him, and for the first time in a while Naruto felt like a deer caught in the headlights.

He smiled. "Oh, you should do whatever's best!"

"SEE HE SAID I'M RIGHT!" Both teenager's shouted as they rounded on each other only to turn back to the couch to find it empty, Naruto's spot on the furniture slowly assuming its previous shape.

Naruto chuckled from his hasty hiding spot, eyes opening in vague surprise when he felt the tug of his chakra seal being ripped.

Looks like Ryofu wants to meet again.

He looked back over to Koukin who was still arguing with Hakufu.

Deciding to step back into the firing line he made his way back into the room. "Ahem."

Both teenagers dropped the argument and turned to look at him. Almost glaring at the fact that he had dared interrupt them.

"Heh heh...well kids something's kinda come up."

At that, both glares vanished replaced by curiosity. "Huh? What do you mean Naru-chan?" Hakufu asked.

"I have a contact, who's been looking into Toutaku's movements and that contact wants to meet."

"Face to face?" Koukin asked. "Why not use a cellphone?"

Naruto admitted to himself that would be _far_ more convenient. But there was one issue. "Don't have one. Look. I have to go see him in person. I'll leave my friend here-"

At that, he made a shadow clone, dispelling another across town. Both teenagers looked as though their eyes would pop out of their skulls.

"Wha-"

"Yes yes I know." Naruto sighed over dramatically. "Looks nothing like me."

Both teenagers poked and prodded at the clone, asking them questions that Naruto let the clone answer.

In truth, he'd rather send the clone and stay, but if Ryofu needed to move to take out Toutaku _now_ then he couldn't afford the potential missed opportunity of rushing across town to do it. He doubted Toutaku was stronger than him, but he doubted even more that could take the head of Rakuyo out without suffering a single hit at his current strength level.

He came back as Hakufu poked at the clones chest again. "He's delicate." Naruto said to both of them. "One hit and he's gone, but he'll keep a good eye on you should you stay or leave."

Koukin then seemed to remember their argument. "She's not-"

The doorbell suddenly rang and, quicker than either male Hakufu was standing infront of it, smiling brightly. Too brightly...even for her. "I'll get it."

The door opened, and Naruto only saw the flash of blue hair before he and his clone were ducking behind a corner to avoid the one eyed gaze of Ryomou Shimei.

"Mou-chan!" Hakufu screamed, hugging her friend tightly. "You're here!"

"Yes." The blue haired girl answered looking at Hakufu from head to toe. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah!" She answered, turning at Koukin's sputtering. "Koukin's coming with us to help carry things." She said to Ryomou while looking at her cousin. The gleam in her eye was almost...demonic. "He volunteered after he heard you came _all the way from down town._ To take me to the mall."

Koukin's lips parted, ready to protest when his brain intercepted his hasty mouth.

If he said exactly how little he'd volunteered, he'd potentially ruin his cousin's friendship with Ryomou considering he'd label her a liar right there.

If he said Hakufu couldn't go because of her injuries then he'd seem ungrateful for the trip Ryomou took to get down here and possibly get him in hot water with her.

Okay...it looks like he'd given his cousin too little credit...She'd secured her mall day.

Now he just needed to find a way to ease out of his supposed 'volunteering' to not leave Hakufu or himself as a liar.

He opened his mouth to do just that when Ryomou sighed just before he did.

"Oh good. I was working out all morning before you called so my arms are dead tired. Thanks for helping Shuyu-san."

And Koukin's mouth clicked shut.

Behind the corner Naruto and his clone stared at each-other in dumbfounded disbelief.

_Hakufu_ had planned that?

* * *

"We hit them tonight." Sousou the leader of Kyosho academy spoke, the morning sunlight filtering in through the blinds.

"Tonight? Isn't that a bit hasty?" Hokou answered. "We haven't been able to get much intel on whats going on at Rakuyo. It looks like business as usual but Toutaku _must_ have heard about what we've been doing here. None of its been very low key. He must be getting ready..."

"Bah!" Genjou Kakouton, Sousou's top lieutenant scoffed. "The longer we wait the more time he has to _get _ready. He knows we're coming, he just doesn't know when-"

"It doesn't matter." Sousou interrupted both of them. "Today, tomorrow, a month from now. We all know where this is headed and where its ending. We each play our parts."

"If you expect fate to help you win then-"

"I don't need fate!" the leader of Kyosho snapped, looking at his long time friend. "But the fact that he isn't preparing anything leads me to think I might know what he's gonna throw at us."

"What's that then?"

"The masked man." Sousou answered simply.

Hokou raised an eyebrow. "Wait? The masked man that destroyed Yoshu? Yoshu was Rakuyo's dog. Why in the hell would Toutaku turn his weapon on them."

Sousou shrugged. "He's insane. And he makes statements. You know that."

"So why not attack us?" The blond asked. "We're the only ones openly fighting him. If he were to wipe us out in one night like Yoshu it makes a much bigger statement.

"True. But now he's got the whole city watching. A surprise attack is just that. A surprise. Now, we're ready, and if he can beat us here at our best, especially if we attack him, not only does he keep the Gokuji, but he puts us down like unruly annoyances. It says that he chose not to _waste his time_ with a fight, rather than a need to wipe us out."

Hokou rubbed at his chin. "Hmmm...That does sound like him. But it still doesn't add up to why he'd sick him on Yoshu."

"Yoshu did fail at getting to that Nanyo girl they were hunting down."

"Huh?" Kakoton perked up, seeing a place to join the conversation. "Nanyo girl?"

"Yes, some girl named Sonsaku." Hokou answered. "They were apparently going after her for a while after she helped you."

"Wha!? And you didn't say anything!" The tanned youth shouted, outraged. "She helped me then took the heat for it?"

"Relax Kako." The blond answered, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "Its done already. Yoshu failed and she got out of it just fine."

"That ain't right." He hissed.

"Enough!" Sousou cut in. "We have work to do. I want us banging down Rakuyo's doors by midnight tonight. We cant risk him sicking his new dog on us. Kakoton get everyone ready to fight by tonight. Hokou, I want those blueprints in three hours."

Both of his best friends nodded.

* * *

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." She answers, too quickly, too brusque.

She moves to leave, to walk out the door as she grabs her metro card and some spare cash just incase. She'd rather avoid the questions, avoid the worry.

But Chinkyuu's faster than she gives her credit for. She's intercepting her at the door, a hand at her chest stopping her from leaving. Ryofu sighs through her nostrils.

"Are you going to the doctor? Is it acting up again?"

She shakes her head, calming down, easily summoning up a little patience. "Look. I'm just meeting with someone by the park."

"For what?"

"To talk..."

"About." She prods, impatience coloring her voice.

Ryofu works her jaw, wondering if she should keep it a secret...if she could trust her with it.

Its a fleeting thought that she shakes her head at.

Of course she could trust Chinkyuu.

"Toutaku." She answers.

She pales, her mouth falling open before her eyes glimmer with worry. "Ryofu...don't...you know how this is going to end."

She shakes her head reaching forward to cup her girlfriend's cheek. "Chinkyuu." She leans forward, giving her a sweet, short kiss. "Trust me...alright? Everything will work out."

"If you kill Toutaku then-"

"I won't." She cut her off. She knew the story, knew what would happen. She didn't need to hear it again. "He will."

"You're the only one strong enough to-"

"Trust me." She pleads. Interrupting the smaller girl again. She runs her thumb along her cheekbone smiling. "You trust me right?"

She sighs...nodding. "Just...promise me you'll take care of yourself."

Ryofu lets a gentle smile caress her features. "I promise."

* * *

Inuyasha didn't know what to do.

Kagome was literally dying right before his eyes.

It was slow...agonizingly slow but yet much too fast, the scent of decay had only grown faster and faster since he'd found her, churning his stomach. The greyness creeping along her skin to replace the healthy tan of her flesh made his blood run cold and every half broken breath was a lance of pain through his chest that sent his heart plummeting into the ground.

His first thought was Kaede.

His second thought was to kick his own ass for thinking of something so stupid.

Kaede was a priestess. A good one. But this...this was the work of a fucking _God!_ This was not something Kaede could _undo_.

He looked at the girl in his arms, trying to catch the scent of Miroku, or Sango, Kiara, or anyone else. They'd be able to think of something! They had to!

But he'd moved too far away...too fast. And Kagome had a week judging by her scent, maybe two!

He rushed through the trees, leaping through the dense canopy with all the speed his still injured body could muster, back south the way he'd come.

_'Fucking think damnit!'_

The wind blew through the forest, rustling the leaves and now carrying a familiar scent with it.

Then he found himself staring into the red eyes of Kagura, the wind demoness sneering down at him, appearing in a howling gust. "Only you people would be so stupid as to get on the badside of the most powerful demoness in the known world and Anger the gods at the same time."

The Hanyou blinked, dumbstruck. "How the-" She marched over looking for all intents and purposes like she was ready to punch him in the face.

"The wind listens to everything." She offered as an explanation before pushing his hands down. "Put her on the ground Half breed."

Inuyasha did so, kneeling with the girl still cradled in his hands as he snarled. "If you knew about this then why didn't you help Kagome!"

"Yes, because clearly _I'm _a match for the Kitsune that could wipe out our entire continent with a bloody flick of its tail." She answered scathingly. "Once she set her sights on the Miko none of you had a chance. I know when to bloody well keep my distance from an issue.

She looked at the dark haired girl, worry shining through the veneer of dislike.

"Do you know what's wrong with her?"

The wind mistress pursed her lips. "The wind spoke...it had a vague idea."

"The what the hell did the bitch do?"

"She put a target on her." Kagura replied. "Her Aura is now mixed with that of Uzumaki's sword. She's strong...but the blade is part of the Kyuubi...it's power is slowly overpowering hers...like a parasite. Once its done, she will die. The sword would have consumed her. The same sword that, as part of a pair can traverse through time. Coupled with the fact that she has, for lack of a better term the _stink_ of a time traveler, her body is acting like a beacon now. With both the signs of her own time travels and the sword...well...put those things together and Uzumaki's pursuers will confuse her for him. And once they discover the deception, they may choose to just...do away with the sword...and it's _sheathe_ altogether."

Inuyasha froze...

That..._thing_ that had beaten him into the dirt...that _thing _was coming after Kagome?

Inuyasha was not a coward...he was brazen, prideful, quick to anger and loathe to ever give up a fight...

But he, more than anything else, would sooner slice open his own stomach than risk hurting Kagome...

It suddenly hit him. Like a lightning bolt, the Hanyou realized exactly what he would do.

* * *

"We have a problem!" Ryofu said as she caught sight of him marching up the park's little stone path.

_Story of my life. _He almost said before choosing to smile instead. "What? No Hello? No Nice to see you?"

"Toutaku won't fight in the tournament!"

"...Ahh." He said.

"Yeah. 'Ahh'" She all but hissed. "He's found a way to apparently keep the Gokuji through a technicality while forfeiting. Which means he doesn't have to go anywhere near Kyosho's fighters.

"So that's why Kyosho's gearing up for war." Naruto affirmed, more to himself than her.

Then he shrugged. "I don't see the big deal, Kyosho will be going after him anyway we just strike then. If we even have to, now we know they'll be moving to kill him. We can just wait-"

"No!" She snapped, nearly snarling at him. "We cannot just _wait_!"

Naruto's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "I'm sorry? Are we in a particular rush?"

Ryofu's face turned flat, a stony seriousness settling over her features. Almost hesitating in speaking before she scoffed. "Just forget it."

"Hey now." Naruto shrugged. "Partnerships need a little _quid-pro-quo_ I can't exactly sympathize or even really care about your problems if you don't even tell me about them.

Ryofu bit the inside of her cheek, glaring at him, thinking no doubt.

Naruto waited.

Finally she spoke, but all she offered was- "He needs to die _before _the schools go after him in open war...that's what the bloody tournament was supposed to offer."

Naruto raises an eyebrow. "Would this have something to do with your...so called _fate?_"

Her lips pursed, taking a deep breath through flared nostrils. "Look, I just-"

Suddenly, people were marching up the path behind him and behind her, and around them more were converging in from the trees off the path. At least two, maybe even three dozen of them.

Naruto's eyebrows rose. Evidently having no chakra to speak of held its advantages. He hadn't been able to sense them til-they were right on top of them, their footsteps joining the background noise of the very public park; Leaving him with nothing to sense their approach with.

There was the grumble of a motor before they saw the motorcycle and the woman that stepped off left a , clack clack clack sound of high heels that brought both their attentions to a girl, dark hair reaching to her mid back, dressed in a Rakuyo school uniform. She was smirking as she adjusted her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Kaku." Ryofu sneered. "Should of known."

"Yes well- You were always too brash for your own good Housen."

She marched past the rest of their would be attackers, a black tablet in her hands. She turned it, on, pressed a few buttons on the touchscreen.

* * *

The phone vibrated in his pocket. Snapping it open he looked at Kaku's smirking visage.

He smiled. "Ahh Kaku-chan. Is it that time already?"

She nodded, there was a blur of motion on the camera before he found himself staring at Ryofu and...

* * *

"Ahh..." Naruto heard from the tablet's speakers, a young man staring at him, covered in a litany of bandages, his disarming smile, on a face that might be considered handsome framed a pair of eyes that reminded him all too keenly of a certain _snake_. Not even spiders were as bad as snakes in his experience. "The man of the hour! Ryofu, you should have told me you made a friend." The youth turned his eyes to her. "You know how..._jealous..._I can be with my things."

"And here I was setting up a date for you two to meet." She said, the inflection of her voice was meant to convey humor, but the tightness in her posture and the faint sneer on her lips belied any such thing. "You went and ruined the surprise."

His lips stretched into a wider grin, a vicious creature slithering just beneath the surface. "My mistake."

Naruto stepped forward, clearing his throat in an all too loud way before holding his hand out to Kaku, smiling at the raven haired girl. "May I?"

Kaku raised an eyebrow. Then she handed it to him.

Naruto looked at the device, turning it this way and that way before finally looking at the screen and Toutaku. "So." He said, a little high pitched and all too cheery.. "This is been long overdue."

The dark haired youth chuckled. "Oh I agree. I've been dying to meet my latest employee for a while."

One of Naruto's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "Well...I'm sensing a little arrogance there...you know, you remind me of this guy I knew... We should get together I'll tell you all about him."

"Oh I'm sure it will be an enlightening conversation. But you see...I'm just..." He paused, searching for the words. "Indisposed...at the moment."

The camera blurred with motion and Naruto felt a sudden spike of apprehension.

Then the camera focused again and Naruto grit his teeth, his lips thinning beneath the mask.

On the screen, at a distance, but clearly visible, were Koukin, Hakufu and Ryomou, sitting at a table, surrounded by hundreds of mall-goers, eating, smiling, oblivious...

The camera blurred again, showing Toutaku. The young man gasped in mock dismay. "Oh my...you don't look happy."

"Go anywhere near Hakufu...my employer might just ask me to kill you."

"I highly doubt your employer will be asking much of anything if he's lying dead beside her...Shuyu-san would do so much to protect her after all. He might be foolish enough to actually try and fight me."

Naruto glowered. "How'd you find out?"

"That does not matter now I think..." He dismissed. His hand came up making a show of looking at his watch. "What matters now is...that I am giving you, exactly ten more minutes to arrive in Takeda mall if you hope to save them."

Then Toutaku's eyes turned from Naruto to stare at Ryofu over his shoulder. He turned, watching as the girl seized up with a lance of fear.

"And you my dear..." That smile morphed into something truly vicious. "You should be getting back to your rooms...its getting awfully late."

"Chinkyuu." She breathed.

* * *

Toutaku savored the look on her face for a moment longer. "Don't let my friends keep you very long..." He drawled, before ending the call with a touch.

He, pocketed his phone took a french fry, dipped in in ketchup as he looked down on Ryomou, Sonsaku and Koukin. They got up. And soon enough kept on walking through the mall.

He turned his eyes to his watch as he got up and followed... "Tic-toc-tic-toc." Tossing his fries in the trash on his way out of the food court.

* * *

Naruto glared at the tablet eyes panning the group before settling on the smirking Kaku who was backing up to her bike. "Why don't you keep it as a souvenir" she suggested getting on the bike and revving it up to start.

"Don't hurt them too bad, boys." She shouted, turning with a kickoff of dirt and rocks, turning it around and riding down the park's path.

Naruto watched as the group of Rakuyo fighters closed in, grinning with bloodlust and leering with desire at Ryofu.

"Sorry..." He said, dropping the tablet with a clatter as he stepped back, closer to Ryofu before reaching down and grabbing her wrist. "Tight schedule, gotta go."

Then, much to their would be assailants shock, both vanished in clouds of smoke.

When they appeared again, nearly half a mile away. Ryofu looked ill, her body barely able to handle her first shunshin without retching. She coughed and heaved for a moment, then, despite her confusion, she rushed off without a word.

Naruto had his own target to reach.

He dispelled the clone. It didn't know who Toutaku was, and he needed to get to that mall _now_!

It took him a moment to recollect all of the clones information. Getting a rough idea of where the mall exactly was from his current location. Then, he rushed up to the nearest rooftop and sprinted across the city skyline.

* * *

Hokou walked into the room, raising an eyebrow in mild disbelief as he saw Sousou _sleeping_ of all things.

"Honestly." He growled. "You're about to march into the most dangerous fight Kyosho's ever had and you're _sleeping!?_" He had to force himself not to shout. Or kick his friend awake for that matter.

Sousou opened a single eye, swiveling it around to look at him. "Are they ready."

Hokou nodded. "Yeah. Everyone's ready to go at your word."

With a languid stretch, he got to his feet, turning and marching over towards the desk where several blueprints were laid out. "Alright, here's the attack plan."

* * *

When he arrives at the mall, he doesn't find them, doesn't sense their chakra. He has no idea where they are.

He spreads out his clones, as many as he can make, all of them with a Henge, sweat beads his forehead at the chakra drain, his breathing getting a little heavier. His, now limited, reserves aren't depleted, but they've taken a hit.

Its almost a full minute before he finds them...

No not them...her.

He leaps down from the rooftops, landing on the cold granite as the ground crunches beneath his boots.

He knew what the clone had seen, was prepared for it, it still made him hiss in sympathy, and set his heart to race with urgency.

There wasn't much blood, and for that he was thankful, he skidded to a halt beside her, kneeling as he turned her over.

"Ryomou." He breathed, blood slid out the corner of her mouth, a dark bruise was forming on her exposed stomach, too dark. She could be suffering from an internal hemorrhage and angry red welts had already taken shape around her neck. Fingermarks.

Her cheek was swollen, her head bleeding.

Ryomou was an accomplished fighter in her own right. Did Toutaku do this himself or did he have help?

The blue haired girl groaned, coughing up blood through thin, wheezing breaths, as her eyes fluttered open.

"Ryomou." He prompted again, more urgent this time

Her eyes fully opened. "Th-masked..."

"Yes." He answered with as much patience as he could muster. "Ryomou. Where did they go?"

She stared at him, confused, the recognition fading from her dilated pupils.

He shook her once, as gently as he could, lightly smacking her cheek. "Ryomou. Ryomou tell me. Where'd they go? Ryomou."

She was trying, trying to focus. Trying to speak.

"Ryomou. You have to tell me or they will die."

She blinked, her breaths coming slow and shallow.

"Shu-shuyu..."

"Yes. Shuyu and Hakufu where did they go?"

She shook her head. "House...Shu...Koukin's house!"

* * *

Her feet pounded up the stairs, swallowing them up three at a time, her heart was pounding in her chest like it was going to burst out of her rib-cage.

She got to the second floor, barely bothering to check her speed before she shoved through the door, the heavy steel damn near buckling as it swung open and smashed into the wall.

She froze at the sight of the crowd just outside her room.

A crammed line of the dorm rooms residents were gathered in the hall, muttering to themselves in hushed whispers.

She stepped forward, in a daze, her legs feeling like lead, her mouth dry as her body shook.

One of the girls turned, saw her, the look of pity gracing her face. "Ryofu..."

The green haired girl pushed past her, carving a trench through the crowd. "Move it." She said, her voice soft before impatience took over and she found herself snarling. "Get the fuck out of my way!"

She was just a hands breath away from the door when two paramedics wheeled out the gurney...a white shroud over the body.

She froze, her whole body seizing up. She felt hands on her shoulders, whispered words of nothingness being spoken. The looks of pity, the tears from some of Chinkyuu's other friends some tried to explain what they had seen. It was white noise to her, her whole world collapsing into shards of broken glass and shrieking noise.

When she finally found herself again...she was retching in the subway station.

* * *

There were at least four fighters surrounding the house when he arrived.

They weren't set up to attack.

They were patrolling...defending Toutaku.

The sun's nearly gone now, barely a purple hue on the horizon.

The gloom of twilight is perfect.

He catches the first man with a kunai and a wire coiled around his throat, lifting him into his perch on the tree and knocking him unconscious.

The next, he approaches from behind, gripping his larynx and wind pipe to stop him from screaming, and breathing. He tries fighting, punching at him, but he's too panicked, sloppy.

The next one is by the small koi pond in Koukin's backyard.

He shoves his head underwater until he passes out.

The fish are not amused.

The last one gets his head shoved through the wooden beam of the front porch.

He opens the door of the house the TV is on, a splash of color across the otherwise dark home.

He enters, eyes darting this way and that way, searching.

He finds Gomei on the couch, bound, gagged, unconscious, there's a wound on the back of her head that's scabbed over with dried blood. He reaches over, checking for a pulse. She's still breathing.

"I did tell them not to hit so hard."

He turns his head to the side and Toutaku's standing there, spilling out of the gloom to stand in the light cast by the moon. He's smiling. A steaming cup of tea in his hand.

He takes a sip as Naruto straightens. "Where are they?"

The youth places the cup on the end table chuckling under his breath. "No need to be so stiff. Come I'll show you."

He walks past him, marching out of the house towards the front entrance.

Pulling out his phone, he sends a text message. And not three minutes later a black van pulls up infront, Koukin and Hakufu are hauled out, bound at the wrists and ankles, gags around their mouths.

Naruto narrows his eyes there are six men, not including Toutaku. And all six of them have weapons he can only recognize by what primitive versions of them he saw in the feudal era.

Guns.

And they're all aimed at his two charges.

He moves to step forward when Toutaku places a hand at his chest holding him back. "Ah ah" He chides. "Can't have you getting too close now. You might actually accomplish something.

Naruto curses. Ten paces is all he would need to make the clones appear at their side and teleport away with a shunshin...From here...he may have been able to take out three...maybe four...but the last two...they'll get their shots off.

"Here are the ground rules." Toutaku went on to say. "If you attack me, they die, if you make any move for them, they die, if you attack any of my men; they die. Do we have an understanding?"

Slowly he nodded, looking at Koukin and Hakufu who were looking straight at him.

He turned to face the Beast of Rakuyo. "Well..." He sighed. "You went through all this trouble. What do you want?"

Toutaku smiled. "Have you ever heard of a man named Dong Zhuo?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not really."

"Ahh well...that's not too important really. Your job is fairly simple." He smiled. "You merely need to change his story."

* * *

The phone rang in Chinkyuu's ringtone and her heart stopped beating.

When she pulled it free, scrambling...hoping desperately...that hope was replaced by crushing sorrow when she realized by the text...it wasn't her.

_'Toutaku is in Shuyu Koukin's home. Ryuudo st. 7F8.'_

* * *

Kaku closed the pilfered phone with a snap. Tossing it into the trash-bin as she passed by, a smirk adorning her features with a black box cradled in her hands.

* * *

Ryofu read the message, read it again...and again...allowing the words to sink in as they ran round and round in the cage of her skull.

Then she stood and got on the next train.

* * *

She opened the gate with little ceremony or pomp, her body stiff, almost still, she looked at the house, quickly seeing the dead or unconscious bodies around her, she ignored it, stepping into the darkened home she switched on the lights, searching through empty rooms and all but ignoring the bound woman still unconscious on the couch.

"Ahh, our guest has finally arrived." She heard.

She followed the voice, winding her way through the house until she finally stepped out the back door, sliding the rice paper barrier open with a clatter of wood over tracks.

A slew of eyes turned to face her. Gunmen, hostages, pawns and kings...But she focused hers on his.

Toutaku's.

The hate she felt welling up from her chest...it was a burning thing. Searing her body from the inside out as it all but swallowed her whole.

She looked down at the one obstacle standing between her and her prey. "Move."

Naruto shook his head, staring at her with those remorseful blue eyes..."I'm sorry."

* * *

They were twenty seconds across the river that marked the border when they were intercepted.

"You trespass where you are not wanted Inuyasha..."

Sesshomaru stood on his youki cloud. Gold eyes staring at his brother, and at Kagura, his silver hair caught in the high winds at this altitude, immaculate and near perfect, the Tensaiga strapped to his side.

By contrast Inuyasha's state was even more pitiful, the blood had dried to a dull brown, over his clothing and hair his skin was pale and pasty, bags hanging under his eyes standing on the edge of Kagura's feather like a man about to jump off.

The Hanyou stared at his brother, gritting his teeth as the words were clawed out of his throat nearly ripping his voicebox with the strain.

"I...I need your help."

Sesshomaru raised a delicately tapered eyebrow.


	11. Chapter 11

Ryofu's breathing was ragged, her eyes brimming with tears of rage as she stared past Naruto to glare with such loathing at the dark haired youth sitting casually on the stone steps of the koi pond it nearly seeped off her skin.

"He'll just kill you all after this is over." She seethed. "Get out of my way and let me kill him."

Naruto, didn't deny it. He knew damn well what Toutaku was gonna try to do after this was done.

He was counting on it really.

Toutaku merely chuckled "So confident Fu-chan." He looked up, smiling as he stared at the wrathful young woman. "Oh but who wouldn't be, with Fate's shield right over you."

That caught Naruto's attention, turning slightly to look at the youth. "What do you mean?"

"We are all bound by the irrevocable path fate has laid out before us." The Beast of Rakuyo chuckled before reaching behind his back and pulling out a hand gun. He raised it, aiming right past Naruto towards Ryofu's pretty, green covered head, before pulling the trigger with a dull 'click'.

"I can't kill her." He says simply, shrugging. "None of us here can kill her." He pulled the trigger twice more before visibly shifting his aim.

When he pulled the trigger one more time, a loud bang made Naruto's heart skip a beat, the bullet flying through the air to punch through the wood of the house beside Ryofu's head. "None of us here can kill her. Not until she kills me." He lowered the gun, turning his eyes from the woman to stare at him. "No one but you."

"And what makes you think that!"

"Yoshu of course." He snorted, gesturing towards Hakufu to his left. "Sonsaku Hakufu, the girl that now houses the spirit of China's little conqueror, Sun Ce. It was her destiny to defeat Yoshu. Then she would die. But you did it for her. You took her place."

"If what you're saying is true." Naruto drawled, eyes narrowing. "Then you can't kill Hakufu or Koukin!"

But Toutaku's smile never wavered. "Can't I? Remember, you took her place, she is now outside of Fate's weave. Perhaps Shuyu-kun's fate can't be changed...but hers just might. And maybe even his too, who knows how far the ripples you've caused can travel. Will it just change her Fate? Or her cousin's, her friends? Those like Taishiji who would be her subordinates?" His smile became gleeful turning to the guards holding Hakufu, his meaning clear. One twitch from the blond and they would pull the trigger.

Naruto took a deep breath, thinking.

Could he risk it?

"You changed her story." Toutaku's eyes hardened flints of obsidian staring to crystal blue.. "Now you're going to change mine!"

There was a chuckle...a raspy thing as he turned back to look at Ryofu, the bangs of her hair shading her eyes from view, but doing nothing for the bitter smile that tugged at her lips.

"Change your story?" She muttered, the occasional, unhinged burst of laughter escaping her before she raised her eyes again. "There isn't a God on heaven or hell that can save you from me!"

Then she attacked and he intercepted.

He caught one fist, then the other holding the green haired woman for a second before her skull lurched forward, the top of her head cracking into the bridge of his nose, right between his eyes with enough force to send him reeling.

A knee to his gut knocked the wind out of him, making him double over before he had enough presence of mind to grab at her leg, pulling her forward until she was off balance before shoving his shoulder into her stomach in return, knocking her on her back before he adjusted their positions, still trying to regain his lost breath as his hand clamped down around her throat, gripping her wind pipe; looking to quickly send her into the land of unconsciousness.

Whomsoever had said rage made you easier to beat should get his teeth kicked in.

Anger made you easier to beat, anger made you sloppy, careless, made you wild and left you open.

_Rage _was a whole different monster. Rage turned _people_ into whole different monsters, let them pick up strength where none would have existed, let them shrug off pain like it was never there.

There was a reason the bodies natural response was anger, when engaged in combat. _Rage _could turn quivering civilians into the fiercest of wild men that would hack at a corpse until it was unrecognizable, that could let children overpower someone twice their size.

Could let someone ignore the fact that they were currently lacking in oxygen.

People's first instinct was to reach for the obstruction, to try and regain the most basic necessity for survival as quickly as possible.

Instead her one free hand shot out with dizzying speed, curling around his own throat with enough force to nearly outright crush his larynx and wind pipe in one go. He released her one trapped wrist, his hand moving to catch her arm around the thumb and twist until she let go, her fingernails carving bloody welts across the side of his neck before her now free hand, smashed into the underside of the elbow of the hand wrapped around her neck, sending stars dancing across his vision as the joint and bones seemed to twist under his flesh with the awkward force.

His limb bent beneath his weight, loosing some of its force just enough for Ryofu to crane her neck and bite down on the juncture beneath his forearm and wrist, as rabid as Hakufu had been in her palpable rage as she nearly ripped out a chunk of flesh with those pearly whites.

The blond hissed in pain, barely managing to block in time as Ryofu struck, one leg wiggling out from underneath him to strike at his face, even so, from his awkward kneeling position he was still sent sprawling, rolling back once to get to his feet he watched as Ryofu sprinted towards Toutaku, looking to bypass him entirely.

With a shunshin, he was in her way again, taking advantage of her surprise he grabbed the young woman by the hair, he reached out for the scruff of her jacket before an idea struck him, pivoting his hand instead to her neck.

A visible aurora of chakra formed around his palm before he slapped her throat, pivoting with her momentum before tossing her to the ground.

She rolled, barely missing a beat as she got back on her legs before Naruto vanished in another shunshin, appearing behind her and wrapping one arm around her neck, wriggling two fingers between his bicep and her pulse point as she trashed and struggled to throw him off, and very nearly succeeded before it was over.

With a burst of wind chakra two needle thin drills punched through her throat, her eyes widening in surprise before they began to loose focus, becoming glassy as her struggles abruptly stopped, her whole body going limp in his arms.

He let go and she fell to the ground.

Dead.

The blond panted.

Molding wind chakra with the reserves of a gennin...there was a reason people waited to teach that.

He could hear Hakufu and Koukin sobbing off to the side, the two young teenagers had never seen a dead body, he'd cried too the first time he'd seen it happen in front of him.

But he kept his eyes slowly fixed on the Beast of Rakuyo, Toutaku looked down, staring at Ryofu's body as though he were trying to force his mind to genuinely believe what he was seeing.

Finally, the youth smiled, a cruel upturn of his lips as he looked back to Naruto. "Thank you." He said, and for a moment, it almost sounded sincere.

Then he raised that handgun and pulled the trigger.

The former Jinchuurikki barely moved enough to avoid a fatal shot to the heart, feeling pain blossom along his whole chest, the force of the bullet all but knocking him off his feet as the hollow-point impacted, then exploded _inside_ his chest cavity. Shrapnel in the form of bone fragments and bits of super hot metal tearing across his insides, as he coughed up copious amounts of blood, distantly hearing Hakufu's heart wrenching scream even through the gag between her teeth.

* * *

Years down the road, not one of the bystanders could ever say anything seemed different that night in their city. There was no oppresive air, no strange silences...the whole world kept spinning as if nothing was truly amiss.

It started with a shout of alarm, and then a burst of orange fire that bloomed across a first story classroom before the students of Rakuyo private school realized they were under attack, the sound of shattering glass, the screams of frightened, non fighter students and even the occasional gunshot rang through the night air. It was not long before the chaos gave way to a full riot, between the students of Rakuyo private school and Kyosho academy, with teenagers grabbing whatever weapon they could find.

They tossed desks from windows on the upper floors, nearly crushing those underneath, took up broom sticks, knives, pieces of glass anything that could be used, was used.

Fire hoses on the first and second floor, were turned onto their attackers rather than the scorching fires.

Sousou, Hokou and Genjou stared at the scene, the distant sound of police, and firehouse sirens growing closer now. "Lets go, we only have a short amount of time. Hokou, find the Gokuji. Genjou-"

"Yeah."

"We're going after Toutaku!"

His best friend smirked cracking his knuckles. "Oh this'll be fun."

"Do not underestimate him. Lets go!"

* * *

Naruto tried to keep his focus, tried to move again. This was no Chidori through his lung, but he no longer had the Kyuubi to actively heal him, only his bodies memory of how to accomplish such a feat; A pale shadow of what the kitsune could accomplish to say the least. And he doubted even Kyuubi would have paused at superheated metal exploding across his chest. He supposed he was lucky none had hit his heart.

He saw Toutaku standing over him, the youth's cruel smile taunting him in the familiarity it bore to Orochimaru's own.

Naruto glared for all he was worth.

The youth raised his foot, and then slowly brought it down to step over Naruto's chest wound, pressing down with more and more force as Naruto's face scrunched up in pain.

"I must admit." The black haired youth drawled. "I honestly thought she'd get past you for a moment there."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak but before he could he was coughing up more blood, the red liquid seeping through the cloth mask.

Toutaku grinned. "Did that hurt?"

If he could spit through his mask he would have.

Then the smile fell from Toutaku's face, becoming serious as he cocked the gun in his hand, pulling back the hammer before swiveling to point it down at his head, and Naruto could see straight down the barrel to the bullet waiting inside, hiding somewhere in the darkness.

"I'm afraid...this is where our partnership must e-"

It came over them like a flash flood, a torrent of power and killing intent.

Naruto smiled.

As Shikamaru would say... _checkmate._

* * *

The doors of the greenhouse shattered Sousou and Genjou charging into the heated, heavy air of the indoor garden.

It soon became all too apparent that it was empty save for a single laptop resting on a desk, its screen shining in the night, the words '_Spacebar_' plastered across the screen.

Sousou shared a look with Kakouton, his own wariness reflected in his friends eyes.

When the video finally played, they were, unsurprisingly greeted by Toutaku's grinning visage. "Ahh, Sousou. I must say you really do know how to come after what you want don't you? Oh. Before I forget, don't bother responding, this is a recording not a live transmission I'm afraid I had more important matters to deal with, aside from you.'

Kakouton snarled beside him, clenching his fists. "Arrogant bastard!"

He heard his phone ring, picking it up, he droned out the rest of the Rakuyo head's taunting speech as he spoke. "Hokou did you find it?"

_'The Gokuji's not here!'_

Sousou cursed, his attention wandering back to the recording.

"Oh but I do hope there won't be any hard feelings between us." Toutaku's leering visages taunted. "I do so _treasure_ good friends. Let me make it up to you with a gift."

And both Sousou and Kakouton felt their hearts fall into their feet as that face was replaced by a bright red 00:02 the milliseconds beside it counting down to one by the time he'd blinked.

"_**Mov-**_"

The laptop, and the building around them was swallowed in fire.

* * *

Hakufu snarled, the cast over her left cracking and breaking away to reveal a perfectly healthy limb as her handcuffs disintegrated into fine dust. Her nails were long and sharp claws, her face twisted into feral anger. The men around her, shell-shocked for a moment, regained their bearings and moved to shoot this wholly new abomination.

Those hands that had been so gentle only hours ago, tore into the face of one with savage ferocity, swiveling around his screaming body before shoving him into his friend, the bullets from the rifle punching into his chest as she grinned, relishing the blood splattering over her cheek as she lunged.

She caught the other man by the face as he threw his now dead friend away, her thumbs gouging out his eyes as he howled and screamed before she dug those fingers a little deeper until they plunged knuckle deep into his brain, ending his screams and his struggles with brutal finality.

The last man raised his gun only to feel the deadly sensation of a shuriken slicing open his throat as Naruto mustered the concentration for one more Shunshin away from the beast of Rakuyo.

The last three, the ones guarding Koukin, diverted their attention from the boy, raising their own weapons in shaking hands to shoot at the girl-turned-monster! Pulling them away from Koukin.

The blue haired teenager lunged forward, shoulder tackling one of his captors, the man stumbled, the rifle going off in his hand to shoot one of his partner in the shoulder.

Then Hakufu was on them swallowing the ten meter distance between them in an eyeblink, mouth with pointed, deadly fangs wide open before she clamped down on a surprised man's jugular, a spray of red blood coating her mouth and dripping down her chin before her claws raked across another's face, swiping open his flesh from shoulder to hip with another swipe.

Koukin swiveled his arms bound arms under his legs to get them infront of him before he kicked out from his place on the ground, catching his assailant in the knee, and then another to the face, sending him sprawling.

The youth went to stand before he felt something crushing his throat.

He had to blink for a moment his mind taking a second to grasp the concept of his gentle cousin standing over him, ready to crush his wind pipe with a smile on her pretty face.

There was a gunshot, and despite his situation Koukin felt his heart lurch to a stop as Hakufu's shoulder exploded in a shower of hot blood.

She stumbled with the force, all but snarling as she turned around, seemingly unhindered by the injury as she laid eyes on Toutaku, the dark haired youth holding the smoking weapon in hand. He stared at her for a moment longer before he pulled the trigger again.

She moved, faster than any human being without chakra had any right to be, dodging the bullet before charging him. He turned and fired again, and again the first striking her in the forearm with a split of bone and a spurt of blood and the second at the hip.

The woman never even stumbled.

He moved to fire once more before the handgun echoed with a dull click.

He barely offered the weapon a sneer before tossing it aside, bracing himself before Hakufu plowed into him with the force of a freight train.

They tumble through the ground, struggling for a moment before Toutaku manages to get on top straddling the orange haired girl turned beast, before gripping her still functional arm, pinning it down despite her brutish strength before punching at her face with his free arm. He struck once, twice, a third time.

Then on the fourth her head swiveled to the side, his fist striking bare dirt before she craned her head and bit down on his wrist, his blood joining the blood already lining the inside of her mouth.

Her legs came up, under and around his arms to pull him down and back, tearing at his still trapped arm like a savage beast, tossing her head to and fro. Her free hand clawing at anything she could reach, carving bloody gouges on his legs, hips, stomach and everywhere else.

He, in turn lost his grip on her functional arm, but freed himself in turn. Reaching up, he twisted her ankle with laughable ease, not even stopping when the gut churning cracks of broken bone jarred his whole body, up his hand and down to his stomach. Reverberating through his ears as even Hakufu's berserker state had to acknowledge the sheer agony that coiled up her mangled leg as he kept twisting and twisting until the limb had nearly completed a full revolution.

Her scream released his other hand and with deft precision he extricated himself from her grasp, dodging as she lunged after him, the damage to her leg making her fall flat on her face as the haze started to clear from her mind, the power abandoning her.

The beast of Rakuyo stared at the mangled ruins of his arm. Trying to move the fingers in futility. He stared at the still snarling girl stalking forward before kicking her hard across the ribs, feeling some break beneath his shin.

He knelt, his hand finding her throat even as her remaining limb lashed at him, clawing and slashing before he managed to stomp his shoe over her wrist. He squeezed.

She fought, kicking and flailing as best she could, but before long her strength began to ebb, the green of her eyes fading to amber again.

A shuriken star lodged itself in his shoulder.

The youth cursed, pulling away as three more whizzed past his head. He turned to look barely having enough time to see Naruto attack with a flying spin kick, the wounded man's attack was powerful enough still, to break through his guard and smack his heel across his face, digging the boot into his cheek.

The blond landed, moving to hit again, before Toutaku recovered, lashing out and landing a solid punch, driving his fist straight into the ninja's still bleeding chest.

Naruto coughed, feeling stars across his vision and his stomach lurching with nausea as every fiber seized up with pure agony.

The black haired monster followed up with a forward kick that pushed the former Konohagakure resident off his feet.

Then...there was a gunshot.

Toutaku's chest exploded in a shower of dark blood.

His whole body jerked before freezing, his wide, disbelieving eyes staring at the blond infront of him as his legs shook.

He looked down, staring in stupefied shock at his own wound, utterly uncomprehending.

He looked up...Koukin, the young blue haired boy crying tears of pain for his now broken wrist, the rifle clattering to the floor as he dropped it from his still bound hands.

The beast of Rakuyo stared. Then he smiled, chuckling softly as he fell flat on his ass...sitting over the soft grass as he stared at Koukin.

His words, wet and nearly choked, did not reach anyone.

"It wasn't Ryofu..."

* * *

This place was beautiful truth be told.

She'd lived for millenia...hundreds of thousands of years, had long since deafened her to the ambient beauty of nature at times. There were always more places like this, more sights that humans would appreciate infinitely more than someone like her.

Someone who knew they'd see many more places like it, in many more continents, long after this place changed and morphed, became something different, when this island crumbled into the sea only to be replaced by another.

She would be here for all of it, passing by like an eyeblink for her.

But even she could appreciate a moment...captured in time.

She knelt, her hand stretching out to brush her digits into the cascading stream that fell down from the rocks into the pool spread out before her like some earthly fountain. The clean crisp water allowing her to clearly see the ground beneath its surface, the spears of light splitting through the dense forest canopy above, granting a murky, gold light to the place. Like a golden haze.

Beautiful.

She became aware of a presence a moment later, close, too close. She should have sensed anything long before they got this close.

That could only mean one thing.

She hid a smile as she turned.

The woman infront of her was pale as the full moon, long, luminous black hair falling from her head like a curtain of the night sky. Her dress was white as a cloud on a sunny day, clutching what seemed to be a Bamboo stem in her hand, its few leaves so deeply green it seemed almost unnatural.

Her eyes stared at the demoness with sorrow, almost apologetic really, and Kyuubi did not fight the smirk this time.

"Well well." She drawled, standing to her full height, finding, to her lack of surprise, that she was almost a full head taller than the woman infront of her. "Of the three of you. You're the last I expected to have ever been the one they'd send after me."

"But you did know that we would come?" Her voice was soft, like a child, hesitant as though she feared some retaliation from the simple inquiry.

But Kyuubi would not be fooled by that, even though she knew that this was no beguiling act, this truly was how this woman behaved, many people mistook meekness for weakness, never realizing this was one of the most powerful creatures within the realms of creation.

"Of course I knew. It was obvious from the start. The moment you found out I was behind this you'd be the only ones that _could_ come down here to deal with it."

"Then why?" She asked staring up at her with those big doleful eyes. "You know the laws. The rules-"

"Bah." The red demoness scoffed, turning her back and placing her hands into the water once more, enjoying the cold feel of it. "Rules need to be shaken every now and again. Thing's have gotten boring. And I hadn't seen any of you in so long that I got so very lonely. And just dropping by for a visit would seem _so_ very out of place. The Last of the Nine within the realms of heaven? what _would _people say." She voiced, openly mocking..

"**Enough."**

This time, she did tense, for real. Her eyes widening in surprise she turned back, looking over her shoulder, and now, standing next to the small woman was a mountain of a man, his skin black like charred meat, open cracks in his skin allowing a glow of red fire to seep through the pitch black surface of his flesh.

Devoid of hair, most likely burnt off, the only thing on this man that could be called beautiful were his blue eyes, contrasting sharply against the appearance resembling a burnt corpse.

He stood a full head taller than her she knew, and she stood a full head taller than the woman, so by comparison he seemed all the more monstrous.

She knew who he was, and that told her immediately that the time for games and wordplay was gone now.

"**You would dare defy the balance of Heaven and Earth? On the basis of your whims?"**

This one would not hesitate in attempting to sunder her from existence.

This one was one of the few who might succeed.

He spoke, his voice rolling like a thunderstorm. The power barely contained within the mortal coil he'd adopted. **Your casual disregard of our most important tenets will have to be overlooked for the time being. Your interference has already delayed the anomaly's elimination far more than what it should ever have been. The ripples in the fabric have already begun. The Guardians have spoken."**

She swallowed, carefully and _slowly_ extracting her hands from the water.

"Well, what do you want then? You can find your anomaly on your own. I set it loose right after I sent your servant back to you with his tail between his legs."

The charred man snarled, his lips curling and it seemed it was only the woman's hand on his shoulder that stopped him from striking her at the fact that she didn't have what they were looking for.

Of course she didn't**. **She wouldn't, even if he were still in this time knew them. She knew their limits.

Up there they could find what they were looking for in a second without her interference. Down here, trapped in "mortal" coils until their duty was done they were a bit more limited. Could they still find one person in the whole of japan in just a few days or so? Certainly. But every second wasted for them was a second she could use.

And _oh_ would she use it.

She fought down a smile.

"**You will not interfere." **The charred man snarled. **"You will let us exterminate the anomaly, and then we will return. And your punishment for this transgression will be decided by the Guardians."**

She shrugged, allowing some of her confidence to show through. "Just a joke. You celestials are so uptight about these rules of yours. Trust me this was hardly even something done with a lot of planning. I just did it to get under your skin. And guess what? It worked.

_Ohhhh if this got under your skin._' She thought. _What I'll do next will flay you **alive**._

The charred man shook his head in disgust. "**This will be your only warning. We do not have the power to destroy you as we are but cross us again and rest assured our full power will come to bear. You know as well as any, that ****this...**_**spit of dirt, **_**is ****a paltry sum to pay to destroy your errant...**_**joke**_** along with you."** He vanished in a flash of gold red light. The smell of fire left in his wake.

The woman bowed, respectful to a fault, Kyuubi did not return the gesture. She too vanished, the light she emitted was a bright, bright white.

The Kitsune remained where she was for a moment. Her smile spreading.

It started as a giggle.

Then it became a chuckle.

Then it finally became laughter.

And from laughter it grew to glorious howls of elation, her smile turning malicious as her eyes snapped open. Glowing a bloody, hellish red, her laughter coiled around one single thought.

_**T****wo**! Two of them!_

* * *

_Well that's that my readers. Toutaku is dead, and Kyuubi's enigmatic plans are beginning to come together.  
_

_I've realized that there's something of an oportunity in this story. Though much of the events are already "planned out" such as what's gonna happen with Kyuubi and the ultimate fallout and repercussions that will lead to the creation of the "Fighters" and the Magatama that is so different from Kagome's time period, there's also a lot of room for other things to be emphasized/for things to take place that are really "open"_

So I'm here to ask you, the reader, what would you like to see in this story. Is there anything you want me to give more enphasis to, less enphasis to, any character in particular you'd like me to focus on, thing's you'd like to see happen, thing's you'd find interesting to find out if you think I've left something out.

Almost anyone but the Kyuubi goes really. I can't promise all suggestions/requests will be answered of course but I'll make an effort to incorporate a good portion of them.

At any rate I hope you enjoyed it and hope you enjoyed the first arc in general. 


End file.
